Fireside Chats
by sirbartonslady
Summary: [FINISHED] On the night of the new moon, Inuyasha faces off with his older brother, while Miroku ponders exactly what Sesshomaru's agenda with Inuyasha really is. Rated for language use.
1. Part One: New Moon

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**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part One: New Moon**

The sun was a few hours from setting, but Inuyasha was clearly anxious and ill-at-ease. Everyone had noticed it by now. His temper was shorter than usual and he periodically glanced at the sky as if expecting something menacing. When asked about it, he generally snapped that he was looking for clues. Kagome was trying desperately to remember what the moon cycle was. She was sure they'd just had a full moon a few nights ago.

Shippo had borne the brunt of Inuyasha's irritability throughout the day, and now the little kitsune sulked in the basket of Kagome's bicycle. Kagome patted him on the head and smiled at him. "Don't worry, Shippo. It's nothing personal toward you."

"Hard not to take it personally," Shippo pouted, "when he's pounding you on the head. He's never pounded you, Kagome. You don't know what I'm talking about."

"No, I suppose not. He knows what I'd do if he tried pounding on me." She mimed the "sit" command that would instantly send Inuyasha flat on his face.

"Can't you do that now? Maybe that'll snap him out of this."

Kagome shook her head. "It's not easy on him when I do it, you know. It should only be used in extreme measures."

Miroku, overhearing this, snickered. "Extreme measures? Somehow I don't see it."

"I don't expect you to."

Sango, a few paces behind Inuyasha, hitched her boomerang up a little higher on her back and sighed as the pace quickened slightly. Inuyasha shot her a disgusted glare. "Give over, Inuyasha. We've been walking all day with no sign of a Jewel fragment or of Naraku, and yet you press the pace on us like it's some form of race. I don't know about the others, but I'm ready to stop for the night. I've about had it with your headlong dive into the countryside."

"Useless humans," the hanyou muttered. Miroku obliged Sango by swatting Inuyasha with his staff, earning him a blistering string of curse words. Miroku just gave Inuyasha the same irritating "I'm humoring you because I know it pisses you off" grin. Inuyasha growled a little but turned away again, and Miroku resumed his favorite pastime - putting the moves on Sango.

For about an hour and a half they continued to trudge in relative silence, only occasionally conversing about idle nonsense. Kagome racked her mind, trying to figure out what would have Inuyasha so spooked and on edge. Surely Kikyo hadn't started haunting him again! And yet...

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly ran Miroku over with her bike, stopping just in time and causing Shippo to tumble out onto the ground. The kitsune spit out a surprised invective and hopped back up into the basket.

"What's the matter, Miroku?"

"Nothing. Inuyasha's stopped moving forward, so I assume this is where he wants to pitch camp." Miroku was assembling a pit for a campfire. Kagome parked the bike and slung her backpack to the ground, looking around for Inuyasha. He was standing by a huge rock formation, scowling. The dying sunlight glinted off his argent hair. For a moment, the blazing sunset illuminated a breathtaking silhouette of him. Kagome froze mid-step, but Kirara scampered by, brushing her foot and breaking the spell.

Sango sighed with relief as she propped her boomerang against a rock and sat down, leaning against the rock wall. "Finally. I hate to admit it, but I'm really tired. I haven't been able to sleep very well the past few nights."

Kagome set about unpacking her backpack and unrolling her bedroll, while Shippo lit and tended the fire; Miroku prepared a light meal and Sango fetched some water from a nearby stream. As the last rays of sunlight slid across the sky, Inuyasha dropped down from a tree and crouched down by the fire. He looked defeated.

"What is the matter, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "You've been in a foul mood all day -- "

Before she could finish her sentence, the question was answered. Inuyasha bent forward, as if in pain, and his hair spilled across his chest in a fan. It seemed momentarily as though a great shadow had passed over them. Kagome's eyes widened as Inuyasha's hair, starting at the roots and moving towards the tips, changed from brilliant silver to glossy black. His polished-citrine eyes smoked over into a smoldering gray and his long claws suddenly disappeared.

"Dammit," he growled. "That actually sort of hurt, that time. It doesn't usually hurt."

Sango gasped and Miroku whistled softly. While they had seen him in human form before, no one had actually witnessed the transformation take place. Kagome looked skyward, searching for the moon. It couldn't be!

But it had to be. There was no moon in sight. Gods, had another moon cycle already passed by?

Despite being human, Inuyasha's countenance was menacing. "You are all a bunch of useless idiots," he said crossly. "Not a single one of you realized it was time for the new moon, did you?"

Kirara growled softly.

"Get off my case, furball, you didn't say anything," Inuyasha retorted.

Sango responded with a big yawn. "My goodness, I'm more tired than I thought. I think I shall be going to bed, if you all don't mind. I fear I'm of little use. Good night. Wake me when it's time for my watch."

"Don't worry about it, Sango," Inuyasha said. "I'll take the watch tonight. I told you guys before, I don't sleep on the night of the new moon."

"I see. Well, good night everyone."

"I'll join you shortly," Miroku said over his shoulder, and instinctively ducked as she threw a punch at him.

"Not in this lifetime, you won't!" Sango retorted as she curled up in Kirara's tails.

After a little while, Shippo followed suit, curling up beside Kagome's vacant bedroll. Miroku finished his meal, cleaned up after the meal and bid his goodnights as well, propping himself up against a rock and dozing off.

Crickets chirped and a lazy breeze wandered through the small camp, making the smoke dance off the flames.

"You too, Kagome. Get some sleep."

Kagome started and looked up across the fire to where Inuyasha was studying her, his expression carefully blank.

"I'm... I'm not tired yet."

"Liar," Inuyasha said mildly. "I can see it in your eyes. I may be human in body, but I've still got some of my old senses. I picked this place out deliberately because I knew you all would be tired, and I won't be as equipped to fight tonight as I normally would be. Now, go get some sleep. I'll watch the fire and the camp. I'll wake one of you if there's trouble. You know that."

Kagome stood up, dusting herself off absently as she gazed at her bedroll. But then an idea struck her, and instead of going to her bedroll, she sat down beside Inuyasha.

"Did I stutter or something?" Inuyasha snapped crossly. "Get some sleep, Kagome, you're going to need it."

"I need to ask you something. I've asked it before, but I want to ask again. What will you do when you've defeated Naraku and restored the Shikon no Tama?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed; "Well, you don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"Please answer my question. What are you going to do with it?"

"Assuming I get to use it," he paused slightly, eying her pointedly, "I would think the answer is obvious. I haven't exactly changed my mind. I have one goal."

"Then why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want to become a full demon?"

"Uh, why not?"

"Just answer the question, will you?"

"Perhaps it's because I'm sick and tired of being a neither-nor -- and humans are so damned weak. Why does it matter?"

"Oh, never mind. You're impossible, Inuyasha! Good night!"

Inuyasha shook his head and settled himself down against the rock wall. He watched as Kagome crawled into her bedroll, situated herself and lumbered off into sleep. Watching the others sleep brought troubling thoughts to his mind.

There were times he wished he was so certain about his desires with the Shikon no Tama. What exactly did he want from life? He'd always felt so alone in the world, having carved his own place, and finding no one to share the world with. And when he did open up, his heart was ripped from his chest and pinned to a tree.

"I wouldn't mind being full demon, if only to kick Sesshomaru's ass once and for all," he growled through clenched teeth, staring intently at the fire.

"Indeed," crooned a velvet voice that sent icicles down Inuyasha's spine. "Ironic. You've had plenty of chances with me, and I seem to be intact. Lacking a limb, no thanks to you, but otherwise intact."

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha launched to his feet, and his surprised utterance brought the others instantly awake. "What are you doing here?"

"I should think that it would be obvious. You cannot be nearly as stupid as you pretend. You would not survive this long being that stupid." The tall white-haired demon lord sauntered into the firelight. His very presence dominated the enclosure as the firelight glinted menacingly off the hilt of his sword Tokijin.

"Don't move another step, Sesshomaru," Miroku growled, unstringing his rosary from his hand and giving the impression that he intended to unleash his Wind Tunnel. Sesshomaru eyed him amusedly and turned to face him. He said nothing as he locked gazes with the monk. Miroku, intimidated by the cold precision in his citrine eyes, restrung the beads and lowered his hand. Sesshomaru acknowledged his acquiescence by turning his gaze to Sango and Kagome.

"You will not interfere. Do I make myself understood?"

Inuyasha straightened his spine; "I don't know what you want, Sesshomaru, but I won't give you Tetsusaiga. You can't even wield it. You can barely touch it."

"The Tetsusaiga is the least of your concerns."

Inuyasha unbelted Tetsusaiga from his torso and thrust it into Kagome's hands; "Keep this. It won't do me any good, not while I'm like this. But don't give it to Sesshomaru. No matter what happens, don't give it to him."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's eyes filled with tears at the nihilism in his voice. He had always said he wanted to die in a blaze of glory, but that couldn't happen while he was human. And here his own brother was taking advantage of his most debilitating weakness.

Sango chose that moment to hurl her weapon. Sesshomaru, who had been aware of her actions despite seeming to have dismissed her, raised his arm -- poison claws and all -- and with a quick slash he deflected the boomerang, sending it skidding across the ground.

"Sango!" Inuyasha barked. "Stay out of this! This is between Sesshomaru and me."

"A regular family reunion if I ever saw one," Miroku jeered.

Sesshomaru favored Miroku with a withering glance. "I see that I have not made myself understood. Jaken, set up a barrier. Keep them from interfering."

The little obsequious toad bobbled forward and sealed them inside a circular barrier, cutting Inuyasha off from any weapons.

Inuyasha eyed his older brother; "You will leave them alone once you are done with me?"

"You may rest assured of that. They have nothing I want. Seeing as you have foolishly chosen to relinquish your weapon, I see that this will be more complex than I'd thought. You have much to learn, you insolent puppy!" With that as his only warning, Sesshomaru launched his offensive.

* * *

Kagome pounded on the energy barrier, which cut them off completely, sight, sound and reach. Unable to see or hear what was going on outside the barrier, she could only fear the worst. Tears streamed from her eyes as she rammed fists, bow, arrowheads, and even Tetsusaiga, against the barrier, all to no avail.

"He's going to get killed out there!" she wailed when Miroku and Sango tried to calm her. Miroku tried all his sutras and incantations, also to no avail. Jaken stood in place and heckled them continuously, exhorting his master's supremacy. He also refused to answer when they demanded to know where he'd learned to put up such a barrier.

For a good hour or so Kagome raged against the barrier, desperate to get to Inuyasha's side. Then, suddenly, the barrier shattered. Sesshomaru stood in front of her as the barrier dissipated. Kagome got the distinct impression that he was evaluating her as he looked her up and down. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away, with Jaken trotting after him, whining petulantly for him to wait up.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed as she sighted him, flat on his face, his fire-rat robe tossed aside and his undershirt in tatters. His back was red with blood. She was so sure that he was dead that she couldn't bear to touch him. Fortunately, Shippo had no such compunction.

"He's alive. Unconscious, but alive."

"Beaten within an inch of his life, from the looks of it," Miroku said, kneeling beside Inuyasha's motionless form. "But these are all superficial surface wounds. Sesshomaru has inflicted much, much worse on Inuyasha before. These are not even life threatening, now that I look at them. Painful, yes, but nothing that will kill him, even as a human."

"He looks like he's been flogged!" Sango breathed.

"You fucking got that right," Inuyasha moaned petulantly. "Flogged with his whip and his piercing tongue. The whole time he lashed me, he chided me as well for being such a disgrace. Called my blood dirty. Treated me like I chose to be born this way."

Miroku hooked his arms under Inuyasha's and hauled him to his feet. "Kagome, get some of your medicines. The least we can do is ease the pain."

"Leave it alone. It'll be fine once the sun comes up," Inuyasha retorted. "He only nicked me a couple of times with his claws. I think he was being deliberately careful not to inflict lasting injuries, though I can't understand why."

"Nevertheless," Miroku insisted, "you're in pain and we might as well ease it. It's a long way yet 'til dawn."

Inuyasha didn't protest, and his countless scratches and cuts bled profusely as they walked him to the campfire and plopped him down in front of it.

"I don't understand," Sango murmured as Kagome rinsed Inuyasha's cuts with antiseptic and then painted them with an analgesic ointment. "Sesshomaru says he hates you and wants you dead, but he never kills you."

"Well, it wasn't exactly honorable, killing Inuyasha while he's vulnerable like this," Kagome reasoned.

"Honorable?" Sango said archly. "You think there's an ounce of honor in that demon? Listen, I know demons, particularly the malevolent kind like he is, demon lord or not. There is no honor in them when it comes to an opponent. Take Inuyasha here, though he's only half demon. Inuyasha, if you had him at a disadvantage, would you hesitate to kill him?"

"Hell no." Inuyasha flinched as a particularly deep cut screamed in protest. "Not after all he's done to me."

"So then why does he hesitate to kill you?"

"He doesn't want my dirty blood on his hands, I imagine."

Miroku scowled. "Has it never occurred to you that maybe Sesshomaru was appointed by your father to be your teacher, and that while Sesshomaru may hate you, he bears enough love for his and your father to do as your father wished?"

"My _teacher_!" Inuyasha erupted, sitting bolt upright and cringing in pain, his face twisted into a mask of fury. "Fuck that, Miroku, you don't know what kind of shit he's put me through all my life! Who the hell do you think you are!"

"**_Shut up and listen to me!_**" Miroku roared, getting into Inuyasha's face. Inuyasha's eyes grew huge and he hunkered down, as if cowering in submission. "All the signs point to it! If he hates you so much, why hasn't he killed you yet? He's a demon lord with the most prestigious sire in the land. _Hell, he's the heir of the entire domain!_ He's got more than enough power to disintegrate you, particularly when you're vulnerable like this.

"Every time you've gone up against Sesshomaru, he's tested you," Miroku pressed. "Tested your weaknesses. He forced you to take possession of and learn to use the Tetsusaiga. He forced you to learn the Wind Scar. He tested your limits as a full demon and threw you off without batting an eyelash. He knows that the Tetsusaiga keeps your demon blood at bay, and that when your demon blood rises on its own, you become a killing machine. He all but paved the road for you to go and destroy Ryukotsusei. He has no problem killing you if you refuse to learn, which makes him a perfect teacher. Either you learn it, or you die. Sesshomaru acts like he wants the sword, but we all know he can't wield it. He can't even touch its hilt. And it's powerless if it's not being used to defend humans, you've said so yourself."

Inuyasha remained silent, his expression now pole axed.

"Sesshomaru is the only demon I've seen," Sango said, "that is completely uninterested in the Shikon no Tama shards. With a fully restored Shikon no Tama, he'd be a match for the Tetsusaiga without any blade at all. And he's completely uninterested in it. It's like he knows about its taint."

"I think he also detests Naraku, which means he could be our ally, at least insomuch as he's not Naraku's ally," Kagome added.

"He only strapped you," Miroku said, applying a bandage to Inuyasha's arm. "He didn't even bleed you badly. He could have cut off one of your arms in vengeance for the one you deprived him. Instead, he chose to flog you, knowing your scars would heal as soon as the sun came up and your demonic powers were restored.

"If he hates humans -- and hanyous -- so much and has so little regard for them, why does he spare you? Why does he continuously spare you? And he _does_ spare you, however much you refuse to believe it. He only shows you his strength when you show him enough to match it. What other explanation do you have?"

"You are too damned observant, Miroku," Inuyasha sighed. "Sometimes, you scare the hell out of me with what you know from watching."

"I'm a monk, Inuyasha. Part of what I do as a man of the cloth is to observe people and situations. Spiritual powers are only part of what I am. All I'm trying to say is that perhaps you shouldn't consider him an enemy right now. He's said that he will kill you eventually, but he seems uninterested in doing so right now. He doesn't strike me as the type of demon that Naraku is, toying with his enemies for fun. He's got to have a reason."

"Pardon me," Inuyasha spat, "if I fail to embrace a brotherly love for that bastard. I'd rather rip his heart out and shred it. I'm incapable of forgiving him."

"No one is suggesting you forgive him," Sango said gently, and for once Inuyasha didn't rise to the bait and snap at them.

_Uh oh_, Kagome thought. _Where are his knee-jerk responses? He's usually on the defensive so quick it makes your head spin. All the same, were he in his hanyou form, I bet his ears would be twitching like crazy._

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	2. Part Two: Deep Conversation

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Two: Deep Conversation**

Inuyasha was silent for several minutes, thinking this over. Once the wounds had been dressed, Sango cleaned up the first-aid kit, Miroku scouted the perimeter, setting up a basic shield to prevent unfriendly eyes from seeing Inuyasha in his weakened form, and Kagome convinced Inuyasha to take a potion she'd mixed up for him. "It'll help with the pain, I promise you."

"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed even as he swallowed the bitter concoction. "Not that it's necessary. Once the sun comes up -- OWW!" He wailed as Shippo tagged him on one of the deeper injuries. "You little wretch! Oh you wait 'til I get my hands on you!"

Shippo blew him a raspberry even as Kagome put restraining hands on Inuyasha. "Humor me, will you?"

"I'll kick your sorry ass, you mess with me, Shippo."

"Now lie down and take it easy," Kagome cajoled, laying out a blanket by the fire. "The painkillers should take effect soon."

"Damn," Sango said in a low voice to Miroku, matching steps with him as he paced the perimeter of their encampment, "what is with him? He doesn't usually obey that meekly."

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if Sesshomaru said something that spooked him." The monk didn't bother following her gaze, chosing to watch his path instead, pacing his steps deliberately in attempt to maintain a seemless, undetectable barrier.

"Oh my word..." Sango's gaze was arrested by a sight she hadn't seen before. Inuyasha was laying with his head in Kagome's lap. "For all their mutual attraction, I never expected... is he asleep?"

Miroku shrugged; "Please don't distract me, Sango. Your company is very much welcome, but I can't keep this barrier up if you keep asking me questions. I'm sorry."

Sango grinned mischievously at him; "I know the situation is grave, when you aren't interested in groping me. I'll leave you alone now."

As Sango took a seat by the fire, she noted that Kagome was stroking Inuyasha's black hair as though she were petting a cat. Shippo was curled up beside her, his head resting on her thigh, watching the fire dance. Kirara was curled up on Inuyasha's chest, sleeping soundly. Inuyasha, in turn, was apparently also asleep.

"How'd this happen?"

"I gave him some painkillers with hops in them. Put him right to sleep. It won't last long, but sleep is what he needs more than anything right now. And he's so damned stubborn and afraid of the moonless night, he won't sleep otherwise."

"He'll kill you when he finds out what you did to him."

"I'd like to see him try," Kagome chuckled, brushing her fingers across the beaded necklace (she privately referred to it as his "collar") around his collarbone. "I have my own weapon against him, you know."

"Does it work for anyone else, or only you?"

"I don't know, you know. Maybe you should try it sometime. It ought to scare the crap out of him, if nothing else."

Sango laughed heartily. "Maybe someday I will. It should shut him up. He's so damned annoying sometimes!"

Kagome nodded, but Sango noted that her hands never left Inuyasha's hair, and her caresses became momentarily more tender.

_I will kill her, that damned wench,_ Inuyasha thought to himself. _I should've known she'd do something like that. Drug me with sleeping drugs, will you? Argh._

He wasn't really asleep. He couldn't sleep. But his body was so exhausted it refused to respond to his commands. And his traitorous body was enjoying her caressing his hair. It had to be the dog nature in him. Dogs loved being petted. It was his dog side that was enjoying this.

_Oh who am I kidding? I'm enjoying this too. But damn her anyway._

"Kagome, may I ask you a personal question?" Sango asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Sure."

"You love him, don't you?"

"Well, I love all of you."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Kagome was silent.

"You are in love with him, aren't you?"

"Well, I thought that was obvious."

"Have you ever told him?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"What's the use? He loves Kikyo. He said so himself. She gave her life to follow him, and he feels it is only fair that he repays her with his own life."

"Kagome," Sango said gently, "I wonder if that's what he meant. It's been my impression for a while that Inuyasha reciprocates your feelings. He's more human than he realizes."

"He'd kill you for saying that. You know what he thinks of humans! He may not hate them like his brother does, but he doesn't think too highly of them, either."

"Now that you mention it, I don't understand is why it seems to scare him so much to be human. He seems so bent on becoming full demon. But we've seen him as a full demon, and it isn't a pretty picture."

"I don't understand either," Kagome said softly. "He still wants to become a full demon, but... but how can it be any different than the transformations he's already had? He says that those transformations terrified him. He still gets sick in his stomach at the thought of all the lives he ended so ruthlessly, and how thorough the bloodlust was. Did I ever tell you that he tried to push me away after that incident with Gatenmaru? He was really spooked."

"I figured he must've done something like that. Kagome, I know he loves you. You can tell by the way he looks at you. Whether or not it's the love you want it to be, it's there. As a friend or as a lover, he loves you very deeply, probably more so than Kikyo simply because you have seen him at his worst and still love him for it. He wouldn't want to hurt you, and if you came to be badly injured, or killed, by his own hands, I know he'd never forgive himself, and he'd likely kill himself. By killing himself, I mean he'd probably go berserk and charge headlong into battle with a demon he can't defeat."

"Kamikaze," Kagome murmured.

"What?"

"Kamikaze."

"Divine wind? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Oh, it's a word from my era. In the second World War, the Japanese adopted a technique against their enemies, where they would fly their planes--uh, think of Kirara as a plane, okay? except that planes aren't live animals--at enemy battleships, crashing them on the ships in hopes of sinking them. It was a suicide mission, making a bomb out of the plane itself, and it was called Kamikaze."

"I can see Inuyasha doing that, if something happened to you. Except the flying part. He doesn't fly."

"He might as well," Shippo interjected. "He jumps like he's got wings."

Sango stared into the firelight for a long time. "I wonder if the Shikon no Tama can really transform him into a full demon or not? I mean, can he even become one? It seems like right now he has a demon's body with a human soul. Wouldn't a full transformation alter that? Take away the soul?"

"What I don't understand," Miroku said, sitting down before the fire as well, "is why his transformed demon form is so similar to his normal one. His eyes go red, his claws get longer, and his fangs get thicker. And as I recall, he gets some bizarre facial markings underneath his eyes. But that's it. No change in size, no transmorphing... I mean, most demons who disguise as humans have a true form that is vastly different. Kagome, you said you saw Sesshomaru's real form. A giant white dog, right?"

"Right."

"Inuyasha's true demon form should be similar, shouldn't it? They have the same demon father."

"But different mothers, which could be the difference," Sango said. "Sesshomaru's mother may have been a dog demon too. Inuyasha's was just a beautiful human woman. That might be the difference. Inuyasha may be unable to fully transform his shape because he's still part human, and humans can't transform."

"What did Inuyasha's father look like?" Kagome blurted. "I don't understand that part."

"I never saw him," Miroku said. "He died a long time ago, remember? Inuyasha is much older than any of us. If I recall correctly, the Inu no Taisho died nearly a century ago. I've seen paintings of him, but they could be fanciful."

"Inu no Taisho?"

"That's what they called him. The Dog General. They say he was a mighty white or silver dog. _You've_ seen his remains, Kagome. We haven't."

Kagome frowned. "That wasn't a dog, necessarily. If I remember correctly, Myoga said that was the Dog General's true form, all other magics nullified. He was enormous. I mean, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha did battle _inside his rib cage_! Come to think of it, Sesshomaru transformed into his youkai form while inside the remains."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	3. Part Three: Dragon and Demon

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Three: Dragon and Demon**

"Sango," Miroku raised his head slightly, "what do you know about the Inu no Taisho? Surely a demon as powerful as him was famous in your village."

"Of course he was," Sango said. "But for different reasons. My people never even considered going after him. There was no point. He wasn't a malevolent demon. He was a demon lord. He protected the Western lands from the scourge-type demons and dragons. Demons like Naraku and dragons like Ryukotsusei."

"Naraku couldn't have ever met up with the Dog General!" Shippo exclaimed. "He wouldn't still be around, would he?"

"Demons _like_ Naraku," Sango clarified, "not Naraku himself. Naraku told you guys that he was 'born' fifty years ago, right? That means even Inuyasha is older than Naraku. The Inu no Taisho died long before Naraku ever existed."

"At the time that the Inu no Taisho ruled, dragons were more numerous than they are now, so the Dog General spent most of his time trying to control them, or so legends say. If I recall the stories correctly, Ryukotsusei was a problem for the Dog General just because he was so young and persistent and the Dog General was getting tired of fighting. Ryukotsusei is said to have landed a lucky blow on the Inu no Taisho, and that that is why the Dog General couldn't level a finishing blow--because the dragon's chance blow hamstrung him, so to speak, practically crippling him. The dragon didn't overpower him, he just caught him off guard."

"I wondered about that," Miroku said with a nod. "It didn't make sense that Inuyasha could defeat the demon that the Inu no Taisho couldn't kill."

"Dragon," Sango corrected. "That was no ordinary demon. That was a full-blooded adult dragon. The only thing I can figure out, from what I know, is that Ryukotsusei was still partially asleep when Inuyasha took him on. Otherwise he wouldn't have given Inuyasha time to figure out the Backlash Wave."

"Wasn't he toying with Inuyasha though? Releasing some pent-up anger?"

"Dragons don't usually do that," Sango replied. "They're usually rasher than that. Ryukotsusei must have known he was still partly asleep and was trying to stall for time until he was sure he was fully awake."

Kagome chuckled as she twined a lock of Inuyasha's ebony hair around her fingers absently; "Maybe Inuyasha's part dragon then. That'd explain why he charges headfirst into battle and always gets himself impaled or some such thing. He's always having his stomach or his chest get punctured by something!"

"Uh, Kagome," Miroku cleared his throat, "did something happen between you and Inuyasha that I wasn't aware of? You're stroking him rather, uh, intimately."

Kagome's hand froze.

_Miroku, you asshole. I'm going to fucking kill you for that!_ Inuyasha ground his jaw in frustration as his canine nature raised its hackles at the abrupt ceasing of the caresses.

Inuyasha felt his "pillow" move sharply, and then heard a resounding _SLAP!_

"My question was an innocent one, I think!" Miroku sounded righteous and hurtly outraged.

_That's my girl, Kagome! You teach that pervert a lesson or two!_

"You had no right to ask me that!" Kagome shrieked.

"Calm down, Kagome! You'll wake him up!"

_That's right, Kagome, just put your hand back down on the nice shiny black hair. That's a good girl..._

A thin, puppy-like whine escaped his throat and his limbs spasmed subtly.

"Just like a dog dreaming in his sleep," Shippo commented. "Even when he's human, he's dog-like!"

The air fell silent except for the steady crackling and popping of the fire. Inuyasha was almost lulled into sleep by the silence and Kagome's rhythmic caresses. He certainly lost track of time. Then Sango broke the silence tentatively.

"You know, for a half-demon, he's got to be the most handsome I've seen. And strangely enough, he's pretty damned good-looking as a human too. I can't decide which I like better."

Miroku _harumph_ed.

"His mother must've been quite the beauty," Kagome said. "I can't imagine he got any human traits from his father, so this must be to some degree what his mother looked like. She must have been, as Myoga said, a beauty beyond compare. And get your mind out of the gutter, Miroku. She's been dead for more than sixty years."

_Okay, now the conversation has gone too far._

A hand snaked up and swatted Kagome behind the head.

"Ow! What the...?"

"That's for drugging me," Inuyasha said, sitting up and opening his eyes. He stretched a bit, wincing as some muscles caught and spasmed, and yawned hugely. "Put me to sleep, will you?"

"You needed it."

"How long was I out?"

"Not quite three hours," Kagome said, checking the weird contraption on her wrist. "We still have a long way to go before dawn."

"Say, can I have Tetsusaiga back?"

"Oh, yeah," Kagome reached over to where she'd wedged the sword behind her pack. As she handed it to Inuyasha, she noticed that he had one hand to his temple, smoothing down the lock of hair she'd spent almost three hours playing with absentmindedly. She felt her face grow very hot with embarrassment.

_God I hope he didn't actually feel that. He'd BETTER have been asleep for that whole thing!_

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	4. Part Four: Just to Pass the Time

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Four: Just to Pass the Time**

Inuyasha broke a few twigs and tossed them into the fire to keep it going. "How long 'til sunrise, do you figure?"

Kagome checked the contraption on her wrist. "Another four hours or so, I think."

"Ugh," Inuyasha crossed his arms peevishly. "Humph."

Miroku eyed them both. "So... I don't think anyone much wants to sleep now; what do you guys want to do?"

Sango mimed a slap at him; "Not what you want to do, you pervert!"

Miroku just glared at her; "For once, I was being serious. I wasn't even thinking of that."

"Uh huh," Kagome chuckled. "I have an idea! Anyone up for some poker? I just learned how to play last time I was home."

"Poker?"

"Yeah. It's a card game. Actually, it's kind of a form of gambling, too."

"And what will we be using for wagers?" Miroku got a look in his eyes that indicated to Kagome that the idea behind "strip poker" was far older than she'd realized. She blushed even as Sango mimed another swat at him.

"We could use leaves for poker chips, and the winner gets bragging rights."

"Are you as confused as I am, Shippo?" Inuyasha turned to the kitsune.

"More so, I think," the little fox cocked his head inquiringly. Kagome grinned as she dug out a pack of playing cards.

"Here, let me explain how you play it." Kagome privately thanked whatever deities had possessed her to introduce playing cards and card games before to the gang. This wouldn't be so difficult now, having played other card games with them before. Recently she'd taught them how to play Blackjack and Solitaire, so they understood suits and card ranks. It was just another step up to teach them poker.

"First of all, let's review the basics. Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 down through 2. Aces are ALWAYS high. Aces are worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into four suits, which I've already taught you. The suits are all of equal value, meaning that no suit is more valuable than another. It's a very democratic game, you know." She winked.

"Democratic?" Inuyasha cocked his head. "Wuzzat mean?"

"It means fair. Anyway: first you're dealt two cards. Glance at them and memorize them. Hide them. Then make your bets. You can bluff your way through. Poker is a thinking person's game."

"Inuyasha better stay out of it, then," Shippo said as he dove sideways out of Inuyasha's reach.

"What did you say, furball!"

"With your two cards," Kagome went on, trying to ignore their hijinx, "and the 'flop' as it is called, you want to make one of the best 'hands' -- as good as you can. The Flop is what is called 'community cards'." She flipped out three cards. "That's the flop. Then there's the Turn, which is the fourth card, after the round of bets. And then the River, the last card.

"You want to make one of these hands, in descending order: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, or failing all that, the High Card."

She then laid out a series of card combinations. "This is a straight, Jack high. See? There's a 7, 8, 9, 10 and Jack. This beats anything below a Straight Ten High." She laid out another one. "This is a full house. See? Three jacks and two queens. If two people have full houses -- which is rare -- whoever has the most higher cards is the winner."

Miroku nodded thoughtfully. "Very intriguing."

"I'm fucking lost," Inuyasha said helplessly.

"AIIIEEEEE!" Shippo suddenly jumped and yelled, as Kirara growled. Miroku lunged to his feet, staff at the ready.

"Who goes there? Show and identify yourself!"

"Master Miroku! Don't hit meeeee!" a familiar high-pitched voice keened as the raccoon cowered in the shadows.

"Hachi! What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood and heard voices. I came to see what was happening and saw you. What are you doing?"

"I was just teachin' them how to play poker," Kagome said.

Hachi burst into gales of laughter. "Master Miroku, _she's _teaching _ you _how to play poker! You, the champion poker player of Sengoku Jidai!"

Miroku konked the raccoon on the head hard with his staff; "Shut UP, you pest!"

"I thought as much," Kagome said with a sly grin. "You weren't asking any questions at all. Put your money where your mouth is, Miroku. Let's play a round or two!"

* * *

"Crooked monk," Hachi snickered. "Serves you right."

"I oughta suck you up for blowing my cover," Miroku snapped peevishly, toying with the prayer beads on his right hand. Kagome had just cleaned him out of money. Inuyasha and Sango had gotten into the game after a couple of plays, once they got the hang of it. Inuyasha couldn't bluff for shit, and so folded about every hand, but Sango and Kagome were trading "chips" (leaves) back and forth with carefree abandon. Shippo was cheerleading them.

Inuyasha stepped away after several hours of poker. Miroku watched him move across the campsite to the easternmost part of the site. The sky was getting lighter.

"Where'd Inuyasha go?" Kagome asked as she shuffled the cards together and put them back in their little box.

Miroku pointed, and just as they all looked, the first rays of daybreak speared through their camp. Inuyasha's hair billowed out from his shoulder blades as a misty aura pulsed momentarily around him. His hair faded within two heartbeats from black to silver. From the top of his head arched two pointed canine ears, and from his fingers now arched a set of sharp talon-like claws. When he turned to look at them, his eyes were their normal citrine gold. With a single upward thrust, he leaped up onto a tree-branch thirty feet off the ground.

He was back to normal. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. It was a nice change, to have an uneventful transformation back into his hanyou form. It seemed like Inuyasha was in dire straits by the time the sun came up, at least on the last several that they'd been with him on. Only that one time against Kagura had he not been wounded or battered, or half dead after a long night of fighting. And even then, he'd nearly gotten killed as it was. Koga could have easily turned on him and taken his head from his shoulders.

"Oh, fuck!" Inuyasha leapt down from the tree branch and landed beside Kagome. He drew Tetsusaiga.

Kagome froze in alarm as she saw what had drawn his attention.

Sesshomaru was back.

* * *

_**Disclaimer**: Don't ask me where the hell the whole poker idea came from. It just struck me that I needed to draw out the night somehow, and figured I'd throw something random in._

_**Author's note**: The poker form used here is Texas Hold'em Poker_

_**Credits**: instructions on how to play poker are paraphrased from _ **_  
_**_- http/ - http/ size=1 width=100% noshade>**last updated: August 28, 2005**_


	5. Part Five: Canine Fangs

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Five: Canine Fangs**

"Sesshomaru!" Sango braced Hiraikotsu against the ground, prepared to use it as a shield. "What are you doing here again?"

The demon lord's eyes flickered in her direction, but he offered her no other response. "Impressive, little brother. You move very quickly as a hanyou."

"Fuck off, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha growled. "Why are you here again? What, did you forget something last night?"

"Forget?" the demon lord's left eyebrow arched slightly. "I forgot nothing. What I wish to test out was unavailable last night. Come at me."

Inuyasha hesitated for once. Whenever Sesshomaru invited him to attack, the demon lord usually just dodged his first few blows to get him unbalanced. With the area being rather close quarters, having sheer rock walls about three hundred feet high on two sides and a dense forest on another side, and Sesshomaru blocking the way on the only open space, it left little room to maneuver much; if Inuyasha let loose with a Wind Scar and Sesshomaru dodged it, it could possibly hit one of his friends if he wasn't extremely careful where he aimed. And being careful didn't usually go with fighting Sesshomaru. The demon lord was too damned fast for Inuyasha to have time to calculate his moves. "Why should I? You're the one who wants to test something. You can attack me, can't you?"

Sesshomaru chuckled mirthlessly; "What happened to you, Inuyasha? Did you lose your confidence? Or did you finally get some wisdom pounded into that thick skull of yours?"

Inuyasha growled a deep, wordless, feral canine growl of warning._ I'll stall him a bit; maybe I can catch him off guard._

Had Sesshomaru had both arms, he might have crossed them, by the expression on his face as Inuyasha refused to move. As it was, the demon lord tilted his head slightly and favored his half-sibling with a hard, appraising stare. Inuyasha's spine tingled in discomfort. The rational part of his mind became isolated as his brash side started to wake up. _Why that arrogant son-of-a-bitch!_

Sesshomaru continued to regard his brother with thinly veiled contempt and with stern appraisal. Then, suddenly, between one heartbeat and the next, the demon lords eyes widened and flashed red. An instant later, his gaze was as frigid and aloof as before. But the damage was done.

Searing rage coursed through Inuyasha's body and mind. The rational part of his mind protested. _Exactly what did he do! He flashed his eyes at you! That's not a challenge!_ But the rest of him didn't care. It was challenge enough.

Cocking Tetsusaiga up at the ready, he launched an assault. His rational side screamed _Stop! Stop! He's going to dodge and make you hit one of your friends!_ but he couldn't make his body obey.

Sesshomaru didn't dodge. Instead, his hand flashed to his waist and drew one of the swords. With practiced ease, he parried the blow. As the two blades clashed, something wholly unexpected happened:

Tetsusaiga lost its transformation.

"What the fuck!" Inuyasha's jaw unhinged in disbelief, and his momentary distraction was enough to leave him wide open. Sesshomaru gave a might shove, and sent Inuyasha flying backwards. As he hit the ground, his hand loosened and Tetsusaiga slipped from his grasp, clattering across the rocky ground and skidding to a stop just out of reach. Kagome grabbed up the Tetsusaiga, worrying that Sesshomaru was about to attempt to keep Inuyasha parted from the sword so that he would eventually transform into a full youkai.

Inuyasha sat up from where he'd taken a backwards dive into the rocks, looking up at Sesshomaru, expecting an assault. But Sesshomaru simply stood there, his attention now on the sword in his hand. Inuyasha got a better glimpse of its hilt, and realized that it wasn't Tokijin.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha had seen Sesshomaru draw Tenseiga only once, and that was to defeat the poorly-resurrected Panther-demon leader. It had never occurred to Inuyasha that the Tenseiga, a sword that could not inflict even the slightest harm on a living being, could be used as a sword in defensive moves, to block an opponent's blow.

Sesshomaru looked complacent. "If it's not too much for you, throw a Wind Scar at me."

_Not too much for me! Why that -- !_

"What the hell are you doing, Sesshomaru? Have you lost your mind?" Inuyasha started to stand.

"Do as I say, Inuyasha!" the demon lord barked angrily. "No damage has been done to the Tetsusaiga; pick it up and throw a Wind Scar at me."

Kagome handed Inuyasha the sword, which transformed the moment the hanyou gripped it.

"I don't know what you're trying to prove, Sesshomaru, but you're really starting to piss me off!" Inuyasha fumed as he raised Tetsusaiga. The demonic energy of the Wind Scar that surrounded the blade started to swirl and with a sharp downward swing, Inuyasha sliced through the Wind Scar's release point. The instant he released the Wind Scar, a terrible thought sprang to mind.

_Wait a minute! If he somehow manages to reflect it back at me, like Kanna did that one time, it'll hit my friends too! FUCK! How could I be so stupid! I don't think the Backlash Wave will work against the Wind Scar, either!_

As the four energy blades ripped through the ground toward Sesshomaru, the demon lord raised Tenseiga, waited until the attack was just upon him, and drove the Tenseiga, point-first, into the ground in front of him, slicing through the Wind Scar's vanguard. Instantly, the Wind Scar's energy spasmed and dissipated.

Inuyasha stared in dumb shock. No one had ever so completely annihilated his Wind Scar. Some enemies had withstood it. Some had dodged it. A few had had barriers take the brunt of it. But never had it simply been winked out of existence so completely.

Sesshomaru calmly sheathed Tenseiga. "As I suspected, Tenseiga can reverse or nullify anything the Tetsusaiga does."

Inuyasha blinked. "And? That won't do you much good in battle. Tenseiga is useless in battle, so that trick will do you no good except against me. And _ you're_ the one who told me that right know we're neither allies nor enemies."

"When did he say that!" Sango interrupted.

"Last night, right before he shoved me to the ground and made his getaway."

"We have a common enemy," Sesshomaru said mildly. "That does not make us allies, but I think that it would be prudent to not fight each other at this time." He looked pointedly at Inuyasha. "Besides, you are hardly worth my time. Once you have realized your own full power, then you and I will do battle to the death, and I _will _have your head as a trophy. Until that time, do not presume to interfere in my affairs, and keep your attentions on your own tasks." He turned away and took a few steps before pausing and glancing back over his shoulder.

"If you doubt the veracity of my words, there is someone who was allied to our father who will counsel you. Follow this forest for two days, and if you are fortunate, you may happen upon a very old demon-tree named Bokuseno. If you treat him respectfully, he will tell you whatever you wish to know about the gifts our father left you. Being that Totosai is unreliable when it comes to being straight with you, I would suggest you take this opportunity. You will need a guide, I imagine. Bokuseno is not easy to find." Then, without another word, he left. Within a few paces, he had disappeared into the forest.

Inuyasha shook his head bewilderedly. "What the hell was all that about?"

"Was that really Sesshomaru?" Shippo asked. "He wasn't nearly scary enough."

"That was him alright," Inuyasha said. "There's no counterfeiting a demon lord like him. But you're right, he was acting unusual."

"Heads up," Kagome said, "Jewel fragments on the move. Coming our direction!"

"I smell wolves," Inuyasha spat. "There's only one wolf around that smells like that."

Miroku and Sango had taken advantage of the down time from Sesshomaru's departure to clean up their campsite. They both paused to look up when Inuyasha growled. From the direction they had come the day before, a dust cyclone had appeared.

"Let me guess," Miroku said dryly. "Kagome senses Jewel fragments, Inuyasha smells wolves and we see a cyclone of dust approaching. Has to be Koga."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	6. Part Six: Horse and Wolf

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

**Author's note:** This part of the story takes place around the time of episode 85 or so. Before Koga actually meets Sesshomaru but after Inuyasha and Sesshomaru have already done battle against a common enemy twice

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Six: Horse and Wolf**

Inuyasha's expression was thunderous by the time Koga arrived. The wolf-demon leader put on the brakes as he came upon them, sliding to a stop while maintaining complete control over his momentum.

"Yo! I thought I smelled you people around. Including the stink of Mutt-face."

"Koga!" Kagome exclaimed with feigned surprise. "Just the demon I was looking for!"

Inuyasha growled deep in his throat, but Miroku and Sango both blocked him from moving by crossing Miroku's monk staff and Hiraikotsu in front of him. Inuyasha darted his eyes from side to side, giving his companions a menacing look, but neither of them bothered to care.

"Relax, Inuyasha," Miroku hissed, "she's just trying to get information out of him. A little flattery and he'll do anything for her."

"My Kagome!" the arrogant young wolf clasped Kagome's hands in his customary greeting, turning his back deliberately on Inuyasha, who seethed quietly. "I knew you'd choose me! A simple half-breed mutt could never hope to be as worthy of you as a fine demon like me!" He glanced coyly over his shoulder. "Did you hear that, Mutt-face?"

Inuyasha shouldered Miroku aside and lunged at Koga, drawing Tetsusaiga as he did. With a mighty swing, he brought the blade inches from Koga's throat.

"Fuck. Off. Koga. I've had a rotten night. I've had two run-ins with my asshole older brother in less than twelve hours; I'm not in the mood for your shit. Now back off."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled angrily. She looked like she was about to yell the incantation that sent Inuyasha face-first into the dirt.

"I wouldn't recommend yelling 'sit' right now," Miroku warned. "He's liable to slit Koga's throat on the way down."

"Back down, Koga, and I'll leave you alone," Inuyasha snarled. "Otherwise, make another move and I'll slit your jugular."

"Jays," Koga spat as he carefully took two steps backwards, "all right, I yield, Mutt-face. Don't get so hot under the collar!"

"Kooooggggggaaaaaaa!" Ginta and Hakkaku came into view down the road, leading a cadre of wolves.

Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and turned away, his blood still boiling with rage at Sesshomaru and now steaming with anger at Koga. He strode about seven paces away and planted his feet at a parade rest. He folded his arms across his chest and waited.

Kagome turned to Koga. "Do you know these woods very well?"

Koga tipped his head in inquiry, his ponytail swinging in the breeze. "Well enough. What do you need?"

"We're trying to find a demon tree named Bokuseno."

Koga looked confused; "Demon tree?" He looked over at his packmates. "You guys ever heard of this Bokuseno?"

Ginta shook his head. Hakkaku looked confused (which was usual for him).

"Koga, I smell horses," Ginta said nervously.

"Tch." Koga snorted. "I asked you a question."

"We could ask Royakan. He's in the region," Hakkaku suggested. "He knows this forest much better than we do."

"So, Koga will be of no use or help," Inuyasha spat. "Fine. Let's get moving." He grabbed up Kagome's pack and started forward.

Koga leaped forward and landed in front of Inuyasha. "I didn't say I couldn't help. I don't know this Bokuseno, but I can find out. Stop being so impatient, Mutt-face. I don't give up as easily as you do."

He motioned one of his wolves over, crouched down and stared intently into its eyes. The wolf returned his stare briefly then trotted away. A few heartbeats later, a lone howl went up from where the wolf had gone.

Koga crossed his arms complacently as he stood up. "If Royakan is anywhere nearby at all, he'll be here shortly. He holds Kagome in high esteem." He looked sideways at Inuyasha, who had set the backpack down and crossed his arms disgustedly. "So, what are you doing here, Mutt-face?"

"What else? Looking for signs of Naraku, or Jewel fragments. Why?"

"Tch," Koga snorted contemptuously. "And here I thought you were scouting for territory, seeing as you have none."

"Not that you do either, wolf-cub!" Inuyasha retorted hotly. "You transient bum, you're not recognized by the reigning demon lord, so wipe that smug smile off your face! Besides, I do have territory. There is a forest that bears my name. It was given to me by my father."

Koga scoffed; "Not that your father was recognized by a demon lord either, Mutt-face."

Inuyasha's jaw dropped in astonishment. "What?"

Kagome frowned; "I can't believe you said that, Koga. Inuyasha's father was very powerful."

"Who's this demon lord you consulted that said he doesn't recognize me as a landruler? This so-called Lord Sesshomaru? Royakan mentioned him once."

"The very same," Inuyasha's ears twisted sideways as his face morphed into a look of pure contempt.

"Sesshomaru is the elder son, and heir, of the Inu no Taisho," Miroku explained. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Nice. Heard of the Great Dog General. He was long before my time, but greatly revered. I believe he sealed up a renegade dragon that was laying waste to the countryside. So this Sesshomaru is his son and heir? Why would he have anything to do with people like you?"

"You don't know?" Sango cocked her head.

"Obviously I don't." Koga was starting to get annoyed. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Give it up," Inuyasha snapped. "He wouldn't understand."

There came a thunderous stomping sound from the forest. It was Royakan. Kagome moved over to stand next to and slightly behind Inuyasha. She knew that that was the safest place in the world for her. The last time they'd encountered Royakan, he'd been possessed by a tainted Jewel fragment. Granted, the last she'd seen of him was him bidding them goodbye after she'd removed and purified the Jewel. But Naraku had a history of reusing his unfortunate victims.

The great, beady-eyed demon came into the clearing with his blue eyes alight with curiosity. "You called, Koga?" The lupine creature took in his surroundings. "Lord Inuyasha, nice to see you again."

Inuyasha grunted an unintelligible greeting. Koga erupted into laughter. "Oh, come on, Royakan! Enough with the formalities! This half-breed is no lord!"

Royakan looked a little confused; "Actually, he is. He may not be of the stature of his older brother, but he's of higher stature than you are, full demon that you are, Koga."

Koga's jaw unhinged. "Wha...? That's impossible!"

_This is going to be fun!_ Inuyasha thought as a vicious smile crossed his face. His canines peeked out from his mouth as he grinned maliciously.

Royakan then turned to Inuyasha and offered him a polite bow. "How may I assist you?"

Kagome spoke before Inuyasha could make a snide comment. She could see one building up. "We're looking for a demon tree named Bokuseno."

"Bokuseno? Why are you looking for Bokuseno?"

"Sesshomaru told me I should," Inuyasha said. "Don't know quite why, but he doesn't offer advice often. I'd be a real baka to ignore it."

Kagome turned to stare disbelieving at him. The comment was so out of character for him that she couldn't believe he'd said it. _He's learning how to act!_

"Sesshomaru, eh? All right." The demon drew himself up and coughed up a small pack of three-eyed wolves. The wolves loped off to sniff out the forest.

"Alright, Mutt-face," Koga snarled, "spill it. What is Sesshomaru to you? Or what are you to him?"

"He's my older brother."

Koga shook his head slowly; "That can't be right. You can't be a son of the Inu no Taisho! You wouldn't be alive if your father was the Dog General! The blood of a demon lord that powerful can't mix with that of a human and have the offspring live to adulthood!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Demon lord blood is too powerful for humans. It'd devour a human body and soul, leaving an empty husk behind."

"Who are you to presume to know about demon lords?" a hard voice inquired from behind them, within the forest. Koga whirled around, his eyes going wide. Inuyasha cocked his claws, prepared to attack if necessary. Royakan faded back into the woods, perhaps intimidated by whoever spoke.

From the trees emerged a golden palomino horse. On its back was a beautiful woman holding a pike or spear that was easily seven or eight feet long. Her eyes were like Inuyasha's, polished citrine and reflective. Her hair likewise was brilliant silver, drawn back into a functional pony-tail. She was dressed in a fashion similar to Koga, but in horsehide rather than wolfskin. She wore a long cloak made of woven horsehair.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga.

"That's my line!" she snapped. "You smell somewhat like Sesshomaru. Who are you?"

"You answer my question first," Inuyasha snarled, his temper snapping. Kagome noticed that the Wind Scar was forming around his blade. He was preparing to attack.

"I am Kiniromaru," she said. "Leader of the horse demon tribe. I patrol this forest. You are trespassing. The forest ruler only tolerates Royakan to trespass without paying token because he keeps our forest private. Who are you who smell somewhat like my liege lord's arch enemy, Sesshomaru?"

"Tch," Inuyasha said. "He was here, that's why you smell him."

"Hanyou," Kiniromaru snapped, leveling her pike at his heart, "don't get cocky with me."

Inuyasha struck her pike with Tetsusaiga, startling her, but only momentarily. Then she whirled the pike and plunged its head into his shoulder, shoving him backwards. He collided with Kagome and the both of them tumbled into the dirt.

"Get out of my forest before I call my brethren upon you. We are a cavalry, and we are powerful. I possess a shard of the Shikon no Tama. I am a force to be reckoned with."

"Liar!" Kagome yelled. "You don't have a Shikon no Tama shard!"

"You, little human bitch, will be _QUIET_!" Kiniromaru stabbed at Kagome. Inuyasha dived sideways, taking the blow himself.

"Who are you, Kiniromaru? You have a masculine name. That can't be your real name," Miroku frowned

"That is the name you may address me by, human," the demon snapped. "I will say it only once more: get out of my forest."

"Peace, Kiniromaru, that is enough," a voice said from behind her. The horse demon flinched and bowed her head. Another horse demon emerged from the forest. This was a male, and he had bright chestnut hair. His mount complimented him like Kiniromaru's complimented her. His mount was a brawny chestnut stallion, rugged and strong. This demon, instead of a pike, was armed with a sword and had a shield slung across his back. He had a scar over his left eyebrow and another one on his right cheek.

"I am Nijimaru, demon lord of this forest," the male demon said. And like his claim, he was indeed a demon lord. There was no tangible difference that separated him from Kiniromaru, but he was definitely much more powerful. "Who are you travelers and what do you want?"

"We seek the demon tree Bokuseno. We were told by Sesshomaru that the tree is nearby, and were given to understand that the tree expects us."

Nijimaru frowned. "I see. Bokuseno is capable to taking care of himself. What do you have to offer me in return for my permission of you within my forest to seek this tree?"

"Your fucking life," Inuyasha growled ferally. "I'll end it right here if you don't step aside."

"Your confidence intrigues me. Let's see you try it."

"It's your fucking funeral. _WIND SCAR!_"

Nijimaru didn't move a muscle, but a barrier spiraled up around him. Inuyasha scowled and gripped the Tetsusaiga hilt tighter, causing the blade to flare red. He swiped again, sending a second Wind Scar rolling. This time, Nijimaru and Kiniromaru both reacted by spurring their mounts to leap up and away as the energy blades ripped the shield apart.

"Interesting," Nijimaru said with a contemplative look on his face. "You are intriguing me more and more. Are you a son of the Inu no Taisho? Are you the famous hanyou son of the great Dog General?"

"I might be."

"Inuyasha, is it?"

"Who the fuck cares?"

Nijimaru swung a leg over his horse's body and dismounted. Kiniromaru followed suit. Nijimaru approached Inuyasha, looking him over. "You don't look like much, but that was a powerful attack. Bokuseno will probably want to see you. If I'm not mistaken, this sheath," he pointed to the sheath still in Inuyasha's belt, "was made from Bokuseno's own bark, fused with the product of the steel-wasps. Very well. I will allow you within my forest. Kiniromaru will guide you to Bokuseno's territory. From there you will have to find him on your own."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	7. Part Seven: Demon Forest

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Seven: Demon Forest**

Kiniromaru pulled a face at being told to escort the group. Nijimaru glanced sideways at her, his eyes hardening. "Something the matter, Kiniroko?"

"N-nothing, Lord Nijimaru."

Nijimaru eyed her sternly and turned to the group. "You," he pointed at Koga, his eyes growing cold and hard, "get out of my forest. You have the power of Shikon fragments. I will not allow you to stay within the boundaries of my domain. The Shikon no Tama is pure evil, and I do not allow fragments within my borders."

Koga shrugged; "Fine by me. I was just passing through. C'mon guys," he motioned to Ginta and Hakkaku. "See you guys later. Mutt-face, be careful with my Kagome! If anything happens to her, I'll rip you limb from limb and feed you to my wolves, not that they'd eat that kind of thing." With a wave to Kagome, the three wolf demons and their wolf underlings set off again.

"Cocky bastard," Inuyasha seethed. "Good riddance."

Nijimaru turned as if to leave but froze midturn. He eyed Kagome. Inuyasha tensed, raising Tetsusaiga menacingly. Nijimaru looked -- didn't glare,_ looked _-- at him stoically, and instantly Inuyasha's blood turned to ice. His gaze was that of a demon lord, there was no doubt. His eyes contained the same cold indifference that Sesshomaru's eyes had. Beyond the depths of his iridescent eyes lay a power as old as time itself. As Inuyasha continued to stare into those prismatic eyes, he felt rather than saw an aura surrounding the demon lord, an aura shot through with distant echos of an ancient race. This was a very old and very powerful being, or at least he was in command of very old and very potent powers.

"You, woman, you possess shards of this jewel as well, don't you?" Nijimaru said as he let his eyes slide away from Inuyasha, back to Kagome. "I didn't sense it at first because of the wolf, because he synthesizes the energy of them, but now that he's gone, I can still feel the presence of Shikon fragments, dormant though they are."

"Purified," Inuyasha growled, "not dormant. Not that it's any of your business. Now, who are you? I can see you really are a taiyoukai. Who are you?"

"Do not presume to question me," Nijimaru said coolly. "It is none of your concern who or what I am. And I was not speaking to you."

"Damn," Inuyasha muttered, "you're just as arrogant as Sesshomaru, I'll give you that."

Nijimaru ignored him, approaching Kagome at a calculated stroll. Kagome shrank away from him, leaning closer to Inuyasha. Inuyasha growled deep in his throat and moved a step sideways to block the way. Nijimaru again looked at him coldly, freezing him and arresting all movement.

_What's happening? How is he able to do this to me? Even Sesshomaru can't do that!_

Nijimaru neatly sidestepped Inuyasha and stood before Kagome, looking down at her with those hypnotic eyes.

"Get away from me!" Kagome shrilled, throwing her hands out in front of her and pushing the demon lord away.

"You may not enter my forest carrying Shikon fragments," Nijimaru said calmly. "I will allow you to stay in this clearing simply because it is on the very boundaries, but I will not suffer you to take those evil things into my domain. The same goes for you too, Monk. I know you have at least one."

Miroku nearly sweatdropped.

"Kagome, let me hold onto the shards," Sango suggested. "I think the safest place for you is with Inuyasha, and we can't pass up this chance for him to speak with Bokuseno. You know I won't make off with them," she added with a sly wink.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who was still shaking off the effects of Nijimaru's hypnotic stare. "What do you think, Inuyasha?"

"I suppose it's for the best," he grumbled. "Sesshomaru doesn't offer advice often, and I'll be damned if that wasn't advice that he gave me regarding Bokuseno. Shippo, you stay here too. I can't be watching out for you too, and this forest gives me the creeps."

Shippo pouted but really had no other response. Kagome pulled her bottle out of her pocket and handed it to Sango while Miroku set about setting up camp all over again.

"We'll be waiting here for you," Miroku said. "Of course, if we're not, you can just follow the jewel fragments. I'm not stupid either, Inuyasha. I can see you still don't trust me with those shards."

"Damned right I don't."

Miroku grinned; "I'm not a complete moron. I know that if I tried to make off with them, you'd hunt me down, and you've got a perfect tracking device with you."

"Don't you forget it, either, Monk. I do all the dirty work collecting them, so you ain't getting them." He looked over at Kagome, who was still apprehensive. "Let's go, Kagome. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get it over with and be on our way."

Nijimaru fixed the monk with a firm stare; "If you should venture into my forest carrying those things, I will not be responsible for what happens." Then he turned around, walked over to his chestnut stallion, mounted, and with a mighty lunge, the stallion and his demon lord master were both gone.

Kagome clambered up onto Inuyasha's back. With a hitch of his shoulder, the hanyou settled her into place on his back and turned his gaze to Kiniromaru, his ears perked up alertly. "Lead the way, Kiniromaru."

The female horse demon narrowed her eyes at him; "I will warn you, hanyou, that I am acting under direct orders of my demon lord. You will fend for yourself."

"Naturally," Inuyasha retorted. "I'm under no false pretenses."

Kiniromaru remounted her horse, gave it a silent command and turned it around. Then, with another silent command, she sent the horse galloping into the forest. Inuyasha lunged forward, getting his momentum in stride. Kagome sucked in a breath in startlement as he leaped up to a tree limb, hopping along the canopy like a panther.

"Don't you drop me!" she yelled into his ear.

"Don't yell like that! I can hear you just fine!" he retorted. "And I'm not going to drop you, at least not intentionally. Stop worrying about it and just hang on!"

* * *

"No fires," Kiniromaru said coldly as they pulled to a stop. The sun was staining the sky brilliant crimson as it sank in the west. "Fires are forbidden in the forest. All uma-youkai are keenly aware of smoke and will converge on its source if they detect it."

"You have got to be kidding!" Kagome's jaw unhinged. "We'll freeze out here!"

"Naah," Inuyasha said, "you'll be fine. It's not that cold out. Here." He shrugged off his red haori and wrapped it around her shoulders. "This'll keep you warm. And no, I won't get cold. I'm tougher than you, you know."

"And where am I supposed to sleep? I didn't realize it was going to take this long or I would have brought my sleeping bag at least!"

Inuyasha stared at her blankly.

"I'm not going to just curl up on the ground!"

"In that case, I think you'd be safer if you stay with me tonight." Inuyasha hooked an arm around Kagome's waist and launched skyward. Kagome yelped in surprise.

"What are you doing!"

Inuyasha grabbed onto a branch and swung himself and Kagome up onto a nearby one, a thick, sturdy branch.

"You can't be serious! What makes you think I can sleep in a tree?"

Inuyasha scowled; "Well, make up your damned mind! You don't want to sleep on the ground, you don't want to sleep in a tree -- your options are very limited."

Kagome looked down dubiously, then turned back to Inuyasha. "You... won't let me fall, will you?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you kidding? Of course not. Now just settle down and don't move around so much. It may not be the most comfortable place to sleep, but I won't let you fall, and I won't let you freeze. What more can you ask for?"

Kagome smiled sheepishly. "Thank you. I do appreciate your attentions, even if it doesn't always seem like it."

"Keh," he said mildly. "You're just so damned fragile."

She leaned against his chest, taking the opportunity to snuggle close to him. She laid her head just over his heart, folding her hands together against her chest as she did. He drew his arms around her, steadying her on the branch. The steady double-thump of his heart lulled her into a state of relaxation.

"Inuyasha?" she queried after close to an hour of silence.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"Now what?"

"For everything. For being a friend to me. I'm glad I met you."

She felt a hand come to her forehead. "Are you getting sick on me? What's with all the sentimental crap?"

She gently swatted his hand away. "I'm not sick. I just thought I should take this opportunity to tell you how much your friendship means to me. There really isn't anything that I'd change about our time together."

"Oh, I can think of a few," he grumbled. "A certain priestess named Tsubaki comes immediately to mind. But that doesn't matter. It's all done and over with. Get some sleep, Kagome."

"One more thing," she said with a yawn. "I just wanted to tell you that you're my best friend. I never really got the chance to say so before."

"I'll assume that's a compliment?"

"Of course it's a compliment. Good night, Inuyasha, and thank you again."

"Woman, you've got to stop thanking me for so many inane things."

* * *

Kagome felt the sunbeams as the morning broke, but she was too lazy to wake up. The steady thumping of Inuyasha's heartbeat had lulled her into a deep and restful sleep, and his strong arms around her kept her steady and safe. She was content to stay where she was as long as possible.

Then, without warning, she felt herself being rolled sideways, and suddenly she was in freefall. But before she could scream, Inuyasha caught her and landed cat-like on the ground.

"What the fuck was that for!" he snarled. Kagome craned her neck around to see Kiniromaru standing at the base of the tree, a bow in her hands. The string of the bow was singing. Kagome looked up to the branch she and Inuyasha had spent the night on. An arrow quivered in the trunk next to where they'd been.

The uma-youkai looked amused as she slung the bow across her back and retrieved her pike from where she'd leaned it against the tree.

"The sun is up; it's time to keep moving. I told you, I am only guiding you as my lord wishes; I have no desire to see you exit this forest alive. I will not waste any more of my time. Now let's get going." She mounted her horse and started forward at a swift trot. Inuyasha grumbled as he shifted position so that Kagome could get onto his back, and then the two of them were off and moving again as well.

"How much further do you think it'll be?"

"This forest is getting denser and smells less and less like a regular forest," Inuyasha replied. "I think we must be close."

"Good. Maybe there'll be something edible nearby where Bokuseno is. I'm starving."

"Humans," the hanyou said mildly.

"I wonder what Kiniromaru's problem is."

"Uh, she doesn't like us? Seems like a logical 'problem' if you ask me. Horses don't like predators."

"Well, I mean, for one thing, she's got a man's name. And I distinctly heard Nijimaru call her Kiniroko earlier."

"I dunno. Maybe we can ask Bokuseno. I wouldn't put much thought into it, Kagome. It's not exactly important."

"I know. I'm just curious."

The golden horse zigged and zagged through the forest, at times seeming to double back on the trail. Inuyasha was getting surly with all the twists and turns when suddenly the horse stopped short and the uma-youkai planted the butt of her pike into the leaf-litter. "This is where I leave you. This is the boundary of Bokuseno's territory. He is somewhere within. You'll have to find him on your own. Now if you'll excuse me, I will go back to my tribe and give Nijimaru a piece of my mind. Fare thee well." She heeled her horse and galloped off back the way they'd come.

Inuyasha set Kagome down. Kagome took that opportunity to return his fire-rat haori to him.

"Stay close to me, Kagome," he said as he arranged the clothing into place and surveyed the surroundings. "This place gives me bad vibes."

"No arguments here," Kagome said as she stepped closer to him.

"Not that close, idiot!" he said peevishly. "I need room to move!"

A wind wandered through the canopy of the forest.

_Who goes?_ the wind of the forest inquired.

* * *

_**Author's note:** if you're wondering where I came up with the names...  
kin'iro "golden (referring to something gold in color)"  
niji "rainbow"_

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	8. Part Eight: Waking Mystery

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, fixed some nonsequitur moments, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Eight: Waking Mystery**

Kiniromaru leaned against a tree root, chewing thoughtfully on a blade of grass. Nearby, her stallion grazed greedily on the lush grasses of the small clearing. The sun dappled his golden coat and made his silver-flaxen mane sparkle. The horse demon let her eyes lose focus as her thoughts wandered. She was damned lucky none of her tribe had been with her when she confronted the hanyou and his group. That strange girl that the hanyou seemed particularly fond of would have blown her entire cover.

She brought a hand to her chest, fishing out the small stone-flower she wore around her neck. She knew it wasn't a Shikon fragment. But her tribe didn't know that. That's why they allowed her to be their leader - because they thought her power came from the fragment.

She wasn't an ordinary uma-youkai. She had been born to a ranking uma-youkai dam, but her sire wasn't another uma-youkai. Her sire was a hogosha-taiyoukai, a guardian demon lord. In her own way, she wasn't so different from that hanyou, but at least she could fool other demons. She had no human blood, thankfully.

Her dam had named her Kiniroko. Her name change had come later, once she'd grown to adulthood and matured into her faint hogosha-youkai powers, when she'd grown strong enough to take over leadership of the herd, and thus earned the name Kiniromaru. It was a masculine name because herds were led by stallions, not mares, but she was strong enough to defeat any challenger.

As a general rule, forest uma-youkai despised hogosha-youkai though no one quite knew why. In a way, it was like despising hanyous. No one knew exactly why they so disliked them, only that it was the thing to do when confronted with one. So if her herd of uma-youkai ever found out that she was a cross breed of uma-youkai and hogosha-youkai, they'd overthrow her or oust her.

She had convinced her herd that her power came from a Shikon fragment, to explain why she was so much stronger than them. Nijimaru hadn't approved of the deception, but so far he hadn't called her on it publicly.

_Nijimaru_...

She shook her head angrily, scowling. Her sire was so irritating! She couldn't understand why he hated the Shikon no Tama so much, and to hear him so publicly declaim the jewel had been embarrassing. It would have been unforgivable if that human wench had blown Kiniromaru's cover in front of any of her herdmates. Her scowl deepened. That hanyou would've been hard pressed to save that stupid girl if that had happened! As it was, Kiniromaru was less than charitable about the girl. Things could still quite easily get very ugly.

She picked up a pebble and tossed it into the tiny stream. It was all so irritating. She hated deceiving her herd, but she couldn't bear the though of telling them the truth. They'd abandon her for sure.

Her stallion nickered to her, bumping her affectionately with his head. She chuckled and patted his cheeks, scratched his forehead and then pushed him away. She loved her horse. He loved her despite all this.

Finally, she sighed and stood up. Grasping her pike, she decided that it was time she headed home. The pieces would fall where fate willed them to fall, so it was pointless to worry.

Then her hogosha senses roared in her blood.

A human in this sacred demon forest? And it wasn't that saucy wench with the hanyou, either. Kiniromaru flared her nostrils to take in the scent, searching the area with narrowed eyes. This human, though female, was far younger than that wench. It wasn't reproductively mature; it still had the scent of infancy.

The horse demon wrinkled her nose in distaste. Humans were not allowed in the sacred forest unless the reigning hogosha-taiyoukai, Nijimaru, permitted it. And Kiniromaru was quite certain that he hadn't invited this girl here. Therefore, there was nothing for Kiniromaru to do but to kill the human. That was the iron-clad rule. Humans could not come into this forest except with Nijimaru's blessing. Any who did so had to be slain quickly. Humans were a serious threat to uma-youkai, though Nijimaru never explained why. It was just something they had to take on faith, really, that humans were such a threat to their lives and peace.

Kiniromaru pulled her bow into place and nocked an arrow in it.

_There_.

A little girl in a yellow-and-orange checkered kimono was foraging in a berry patch. Her shiny black hair was caught up in a spiky ponytail just above her right ear. She was very young... Kiniromaru was a poor judge of human age, but that child looked too young to be away from its mother!

_I wish I didn't have to do this; it's just a foal!_ she thought. _But I must protect this forest. Forgive me, little one. I will try to make it as painless as I can._

Kiniromaru sighted her target, the child's heart, and fired. The girl stood up the moment the arrow left the bow; the arrow missed its intended target, impaling itself instead in her abdomen. Kiniromaru flinched. Gut wounds were terribly painful and were notoriously slow at causing death. The girl screamed in pain and fear, collapsing into the berry patch. Kiniromaru swore blackly and grabbed her pike. The girl was now out of an arrow's range; she'd have to make this quick. She was better with her pike than with a bow and arrow anyway.

As she closed in on her prey, she came upon a small toad-like demon, catching him by surprise. With a swift punch and kick, she dispatched him, sending him rolling into the stream. The girl was sobbing hysterically as she pulled the arrow out. Her pitiful cries cut Kiniromaru to the quick. She had to do this -- she had no choice! It made her stomach violent with disgust even as her mind repeated over and over that she had no choice, the human must be slain.

She pinned the girl to the ground and raised her pike. "I don't want you to suffer, little one. Please understand that. I have no choice. I'm sorry."

Before the spearhead of her pike connected with the girl's chest, however, a jolt of energy struck Kiniromaru in the chest and set her backwards, throwing her against a tree. Looking up in dazed confusion, she froze in terror at who stood before her.

* * *

Three strides into the small copse of trees that he was certain contained Bokuseno, Inuyasha froze. Completely froze - as if all his muscles had ceased to function. His eyes glazed over and his body tensed.

Kagome touched his shoulder experimentally. "Inuyasha?" When he didn't respond, she tugged on his arm. "What's the matter?"

Still no response.

"Inuyasha! Come on, snap out of it! What's the matter?" She was becoming spooked by his complete stillness.

His expression became one of horror. His jaw flexed and his mouth formed her name, but no sound came from his throat.

"Inuyasha! Snap out of it!"

Still nothing.

_What do I do?_she thought anxiously. _What on earth is wrong? Why is he behaving like this?_

_I guess I have no other choice then._

* * *

_The horror was unspeakable. He was surrounded by demon trees, and they were not pleased. Seriously not pleased. One of the trees held him bound tightly to its trunk, bound by root and branch so that he couldn't move at all._

_The other trees were trying to tear Kagome limb from limb. Her screams of fear and agony, her pleas for him to save her, were driving him insane._

I have to protect her! I swore to protect her! Let go of me, you fucking coward tree!

_Then suddenly, Kagome's body gave way. Her cries ceased abruptly. The forest floor was suddenly inundated with blood and the stench of human death._

_His vision swam red as his demon blood roared through his veins, drowning his humanity. He'd avenge her._

_"Foolish hanyou!" sneered the tree. "Did you honestly think you could _ SIT BOY!"

He tasted loam.

What the FUCK!

"Inuyasha! What happened?"

Kagome... she was okay?

Inuyasha raised his head from the forest floor, shaking the loam out of his eyes. "Wha... what the fuck just happened?" He looked around in bewilderment. Kagome was kneeling in front of him, apparently completely unhurt. There were no visible tree roots...

"You weren't moving. I had to say _it_, to bring you out of whatever that was. I'm sorry, but it's the only thing I could think to do."

_What the fuck was that just now? I saw the trees... I saw them kill her! Oh GOD!_ He reached out and grabbed her by the forearms, pulling her into a tight embrace. _She was ripped apart by demon trees, and I couldn't save her!_

His arms constricted around her. The images were so fresh in his mind that he could still taste the foul scent of her death.

"Inuyasha... you're squeezing... I can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry..." he released her quickly, embarrassed that he'd gotten so emotional over that... whatever that was.

"What happened?"

"I saw..."

"Your worst nightmare, I imagine," a deep rumbling voice answered. The resonance and timbre of the voice was weirdly reminiscent of Ryukotsusei, but there was no malice in the voice, only timeworn sagacity. "I do apologize; my defenses are quite unpleasant, but they do their job admirably."

Inuyasha whipped Tetsusaiga out of its sheath as he whirled around. "Who are you? Where are you?"

"I am right in front of you. My name is Bokuseno." A face formed in the bark of a magnificent demon tree. "I believe you have been searching for me, Inuyasha."

"You're Bokuseno?"

"I am. I assume you seek answers. What would you have me tell you?"

Inuyasha stared dubiously at the tree. He wanted desperately to doubt this creature - it seemed too surreal that he'd found Bokuseno so easily - but he could feel Tetsusaiga resonating, almost as if in greeting. It was the same feel the sword gave off whenever Totosai was around.

Tetsusaiga recognized this tree.

"You could start by explaining why my sword recognizes you."

Bokuseno seemed unfazed by Inuyasha's surly reply. "The sheath that you keep Tetsusaiga in is made from my bark. Tetsusaiga recognizes the kinship of its sheath to me. Sesshomaru's sword, Tenseiga, has a similar sheath."

"Nice segue," Inuyasha commented. "Speaking of Sesshomaru, what the hell does he want with me?"

"Explain."

"If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead. He's had numerous chances, yet he squanders all chances. I've seen him in battle with others. He doesn't waste any time lecturing them. He just cuts them. But when he's fighting me, he's always running his mouth. One of my friends suggested that maybe my father appointed Sesshomaru to be a teacher to me. Is that possible?"

"Possible," Bokuseno agreed, "but not true. Your father did not really trust Sesshomaru where humans, or half-humans, are concerned. Sesshomaru's reasons for what he does are entirely his own. And they are quite straightforward.

"Sesshomaru is his father's heir, but he cannot truly inherit while you live. Therefore, he must kill you to inherit. But in his arrogance, he believes that killing you is beneath him unless you are a worthy opponent. And he believes that if you are truly your father's son, then only he will be able to kill you. In essense, he spares your life in combat with him simply because he does not believe killing you to be worth the effort. He wants to fully inherit, to be the undisputed king of the land, and if you mature into your full potential and he were to kill you, he would gain stature and power in doing so."

"That makes sense," Inuyasha said. "Sesshomaru rarely -- if ever -- does anything unless he can benefit from it."

"Therefore, while I would not say that he is training you, I will say that he is _testing_ you, to see if you are a worthy opponent yet. You must remember that Sesshomaru is a full inu-taiyoukai. Both his mother and father were inu-taiyoukai. He has the potential to be greater than the Inu no Taisho, but he has much growing up and maturing to do as well. In fair combat, there is no way you could defeat him. You have seen displays of his powers firsthand. But even Sesshomaru himself does not know the limits of his full potential."

At some point during the demon tree's speech, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha's ears went erect and still and his body tensed. He ceased to pay attention to the demon tree's speech.

"Inuyasha, what is it?"

"I smell human blood. Fresh human blood. _Very_ fresh human blood."

Bokuseno was silent a moment. "Humans are not allowed in this forest except as the taiyoukai ruler of the forest allows it. If a human is caught trespassing without Nijimaru's permission, the uma-youkai are duty-bound to kill it."

"There's something disturbingly familiar about that scent though. I recognize it somehow. Come on, Kagome. I have a very bad feeling about this."

Kagome hurriedly said her goodbyes to Bokuseno, thanking him for imparting his knowledge to them. The demon tree didn't reply, but she didn't exactly expect him to either.

As Inuyasha took off in the direction of the blood he smelled, Kagome tried to wrap her mind around all that had been revealed.

"I'm sure I smell Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said as he launched up into the canopy for swifter travel. "If I'm right, things may get very ugly."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	9. Part Nine: Elusive Ragings

****

**Disclaimer: **because I hate the Viz dub "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer" translation, I chose to go with the accepted "Soul Scattering Iron Claws" translation of "Sankon Tetsuso"

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Nine: Elusive Ragings**

Sesshomaru.

The one demon in all the world she feared. The demon lord she'd seen battle with Nijimaru and inflict on her sire a nearly-fatal wound. It had taken Nijimaru more than a year to recover from the wound Sesshomaru left in his chest. Sesshomaru was the one taiyoukai that Nijimaru himself feared.

And he was standing in front of her, with a thunderous, murderous look in his cold citrine eyes.

_Fucking hell, what's he doing here? Well, if he's going to kill me, I might as well make it worth his while. I'll go down in a blaze of glory._

Kiniromaru gripped her pike tighter -- mildly surprised that she'd managed to hang onto it in the assault and deflection -- and lunged to her feet.

The canine demon lord cocked an eyebrow at her and drew one of the two swords at his hip. The katana's blade glowed blue as the demon lord turned and walked over to the little girl still sobbing quietly in the berry patch. He stood directly over her and held the sword above her.

"Rin," he said in a very calm voice. "Don't move. This will only hurt for a moment."

"Yes, my lord," the girl sniffled.

Sesshomaru then drove the sword point-first into the wound in her abdomen.

_WHAT THE HELL!_ Kiniromaru's jaw unhinged. _He stares at me like I just murdered his child, and then he goes over and kills the human for me!_

A cool blue light surrounded the little girl, and in about ten seconds, Sesshomaru had drawn the sword away and was sheathing it.

"Go clean off the blood in that stream over there," he said in that same calm tone one used for fractious foals. "Retrieve Jaken, while you're there."

"Yes my lord!" the girl stood up, straightened her dirtied kimono and set off toward the stream.

_I don't believe it. She's not even limping. It's like she was never hurt._

Sesshomaru turned cold eyes back to Kiniromaru.

"I will not overlook this transgression. You have signed your death warrant," he said calmly as he raised his right hand up, his claws beginning to glow a sickly green. Poison claws -- the same as had so severely wounded Nijimaru.

"I'll sell my life dearly!" Kiniromaru retorted hotly, hefting her pike and hurling it like a javelin, hoping to strike his chest, but her aim failed her. Without the demon lord taking even the slightest step sideways, her pike drifted to the left and struck his left arm... or so she thought.

Sesshomaru dropped his right hand down in surprise as the pike pierced the left sleeve, catching the shaft and halting its progress.

"You foolishly discard your only weapon?" he smirked as he pulled the weapon out of his sleeve and cast it aside, out of her immediate reach.

_Oh. My. God._ Kiniromaru realized why the sleeve seemed to flutter so freely... he _had_ no left arm anymore!

"What happened to your arm?" she gaped.

The demon lord's eyes became hard and he raised his right hand again. With a quick, definitive slashing motion, he brought his right hand from his left shoulder around in a semicircle. Kiniromaru didn't even have time to register the significance of that before a whip of poison energy came slashing across her face. She cried out in pain as the venom stung her eyes.

Then Sesshomaru was right in front of her -- she hadn't even seen him move! -- and he struck her in the face with his fisted claws, sending her reeling back into the trees.

"Stop, Sesshomaru!" a familiar voice roared from nearby.

_No, not that hanyou again! Dammit! I don't need his help!_

Kiniromaru threw herself to the right as Sesshomaru swung again, just barely dodging another blow.

"**SOUL SCATTERING IRON CLAWS!**" Sickle-shaped blades of yellow energy came wheeling into view through the trees. Sesshomaru swiped his poison claws at the blades of energy and parried their blows.

"Inuyasha," the taiyoukai growled. "I told you to stay out of my business."

"I would, if this was strictly your business, but _you _being _here _and attacking_ her_ makes this my business as well."

"What are you talking about, you worthless halfbreed?"

Kiniromaru wiped blood off her jaw as she studied Sesshomaru, whose attention had been wholly seized by the _hanyou_'s arrival.

_Strange._ In all the times Kiniromaru had seen him - not that she had encountered him very often, but she was no stranger to him either - Sesshomaru had never shown any facial expression beyond what could be read in his eyes. And one had to have experience with taiyoukai to know how he expressed with his eyes. Demon lords were very, very adept with their eyes. Kiniromaru was convinced that their talents with their eyes were what enabled taiyoukai to dominate over other youkai. Nijimaru was a master at communicating with his eyes alone. Sesshomaru had demonstrated to her that he too was more than adept with his eyes. He had no need for facial expression. But now... _ Even a useless human could tell that he's furious! What is it about that hanyou that so enrages him?_

The hanyou stood about ten feet away, his right hand poised to strike. The claws on his right hand glowed, but not with venom. Their glow was yellow and bright.

_So_, Kiniromaru thought, _the ability to use the claws in a supernatural way must come from their mutual sire. Fascinating, though the knowledge of it won't help me here._

"I grow tired of dealing with you meddling fools!" Sesshomaru angrily slashed his hand around in a sharp cutting motion. From his first two claws emerged a tendril of poison energy...

_That whip! So that's how he did it!_

The hanyou drew his sword and blocked the whip's strike. "Is that all you have, Sesshomaru? Just a searing rage? Where's the cool calculation I normally see in you?"

"Silence, Inuyasha! You have no business here! Leave now or I will cut you to pieces."

"I'm not worth your time to kill yet, remember?"

"If you keep interfering, I will amend my evaluation of you."

_What the fuck is that idiot hanyou doing?_ Kiniromaru rubbed her stinging eyes. _Who does he think he is, taunting Sesshomaru, the demon lord who nearly fatally wounded a taiyoukai like Nijimaru?_

"Are you okay, Kiniromaru?"

The horse demon whipped around to see the hanyou's wench approaching, holding the hand of that little girl who had started all of this just by being in this forest.

"You! Stay out of this, you foolish human! Don't make me kill you."

"Don't be a stubborn fool," the girl frowned. "You're very lucky Sesshomaru didn't draw his sword Tokijin on you. Inuyasha will keep his attention until his anger runs out; then he won't see any reason to kill you."

"I don't need your fucking help, little bitch!" Kiniromaru shouted. "Why are you here? What does it matter to you what happens to me?"

"Why are you here, Inuyasha? Does that crossbred filly fascinated you so much?" Sesshomaru was livid.

"If only it was so simple," the hanyou replied. "Nijimaru has made hostages of some of my companions. If you kill this 'crossbred filly,' I have no doubts that he'll kill the hostages in retaliation."

"So now your arrogance is as limitless as your stupidity, little brother," Sesshomaru savagely slashed at Inuyasha. "You are a disgrace to my honorable father's memory. Nijimaru is not so foolish as to think you accountable for my actions. He knows who is the greater of us."

"Indeed. He also knows who cut off your left arm, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"Seeing as I've done to you what he never could even dream of, it's not out of line for Nijimaru to assume I have some measure of control over you."

"If that foolish old nag truly believes that, then he is not only a fool, but a doddering, forgetful one at that. He has tasted the potency of my poison claws, and knows defeat at my hands. Perhaps he has not learned his lesson. Perhaps I shall deal with him when I am done with his wretched daughter over there."

"Inuyasha!" the wench shouted. "Duck!"

The hanyoutook her advice and dropped down onto all fours. A giant boomerang -- at least six feet in length -- came wheeling out of the sky. It skimmed just over Inuyasha's head and struck Sesshomaru in the chest, sending him reeling backwards. The demon lord kept his balance and didn't fall down, but it distracted him enough that the hanyougot a good blow in on him.

_Where the fuck did that thing come from?_

* * *

"Sango!" Kagome had never been so happy to see Hiraikotsu come wheeling in toward Inuyasha. She followed the line of the giant boomerang to where it swung back up. Sango, garbed in her battle armor, sat astride not Kirara but a gargantuan copper spirit horse. Kirara was visible just a short distance away with Miroku and Shippo aboard. As Sango caught Hiraikotsu in air and swung it back onto her back, Kirara landed near Kagome and Miroku swung down, patting the fire-cat affectionately.

"You made it!" Kagome exclaimed. "Nijimaru let you come in?"

"He did," Miroku replied. "He said that you needed our help and that he would overlook the presence of Jewel shards as long as we didn't actually use them."

"Where'd the horse come from?"

"Fool!" Kiniromaru shouted at the horse. "You're going to be killed!"

Miroku sweatdropped a bit; "That's Nijimaru's true form."

Kagome felt a tug on her sleeve. It was Rin.

"Why is Lord Sesshomaru so mad? I have never seen him so mad."

"What happened to you, Rin? I think he's mad over that."

"That stupid woman over there," Jaken said hotly, pointing at Kiniromaru, "_shot _Rin with an arrow and then tried to kill her with a giant spear."

"Humans are forbidden in this forest without Lord Nijimaru's permission. I am duty-bound to exterminate them. It's not something I _enjoy_, you worthless toad!"

"Lord Sesshomaru does not need that idiot Nijimaru's permission to bring his ward into this forest!"

"Sesshomaru," a brassy voice called from overhead. "If you want someone to fight, fight me. I am the one who allowed all this to happen."

Kirara launched upwards and flew up to where the great spirit-horse hovered. Sango jumped from the copper horse onto Kirara's back and rode her down to the ground. "I think we should get out of here," Sango said as they landed. Miroku nodded in agreement and hopped onto the firecat behind the exterminator.

"Kagome, you and Inuyasha should probably leave too."

Sesshomaru raised his hand and snapped his fingers loudly. In the sky overhead appeared the two-headed dragon that the demon lord used as transportation. The dragon spiraled down and landed nearby as well.

"Damn, this clearing is getting crowded," Jaken muttered. "Come on, Rin. I think Lord Sesshomaru means for us to get out of the way."

"I hope Lord Sesshomaru won't be too hard on him," Rin said as she and Jaken climbed up onto the dragon.

Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and sprang over to Kagome. "Come on, Kagome. We'd best get the hell out of here."

"Coward," Kiniromaru snarled. "Running away from him now? You really are afraid of him, aren't you?"

"My friends are safe. I have no other business here," Inuyasha snapped as Kagome climbed onto his back. "Particularly since you seem to not want my help. I'd advise you to make yourself scarce, but it doesn't matter to me what you do. But if you're nearby, Sesshomaru will likely kill you just out of sheer peevishness. Kagome, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	10. Part Ten: The Spear Carrier

****

**Author's Note: **Because I think it's completely out of place, I'm ignoring the Viz dub's use of "ye" when Kaede speaks. It seems entirely too awkward. She's the only character who does it, and it sounds really-bizarre.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Ten: The ****Spear Carrier**

Kagome yawned and stretched. It felt good to not have to worry about safety, especially on a moonless night like tonight. It had been a month since the confrontation in Nijimaru's forest. They could only speculate as to what the outcome of the fight between taiyoukai might have been.

Tonight, they were in Kaede's village, having turned around shortly after leaving Nijimaru's forest and returning here so that Kagome could restock supplies from the other side of the well. While Kagome had been away rounding up fresh supplies, a horde of demons had attacked and Naraku had made an appearance... or rather, he'd let a puppet make an appearance. Either way, last night he'd even sent Kagura to stir up some trouble, and Miroku had accidentally taken in some of the saimyosho insects, receiving enough poisonous stings to knock him out of commission for a few days. In protecting his friends from Kagura's Dance of Blades, Inuyasha had inadvertantly exhausted himself to the point where afterward he'd slept most of the day leading up to his monthly transformation.

Sango had come to the conclusion that Naraku was just doing this to keep them confused and on guard. There couldn't possibly be anything he wished to hide or protect from them around here; therefore, he was just being the antagonist and stirring up trouble for the sake of it, which was_ extremely_ annoying.

Oh well. At least Naraku was likely to leave them alone tonight, and even if he didn't, even if he sent trouble their way, Inuyasha could probably be forced to hide in one of the huts.

This was probably the first moonless night since his mother died that Inuyasha hadn't spent in deep-seated fear. Surrounded by allies, most of them unaware of his identity, he was relaxed enough to joke and tease. It had been ridiculously easy to fool the villagers, most of whom were a little nervous around Inuyasha anyway. They'd grown up on stories of his exploits prior to being sealed to the sacred tree. It was hard for them to believe he wasn't that same rampaging demon. Only Kaede had seen Inuyasha's softer, more humane side. This was the first time Kaede had seen his human form, though she'd heard about it from Kagome and Shippo. After having slept most of the day, the hanyou had made his way into his forest as the sun began to set. Once the sun had completely set, thus completing the transformation, he'd removed the red haori, hiding it away in a tree, and bound his black hair up in a white hair tie. With his rosary-beads necklace tucked underneath his white undershirt so that it wasn't visible, he didn't look that much like his hanyou self unless you were familiar with him and knew what to look for. Kagome had met him at the edge of the forest and escorted him back into the village, all the while teasing him under her breath and relishing his blushes.

The villagers were easily fooled. A few had inquired into the half-demon's absence as the stars began to shine that evening, but Kaede had assured them that Inuyasha would be scouting his forest all night -- after all, hadn't he slept all day? -- and would be back by sunrise. Kagome and Sango had been hard pressed to keep straight faces at the expression on Inuyasha's face when a few villagers expressed relief. He'd looked torn between anger and bewilderment.

Kagome glanced over where Sango and Inuyasha were sparring. With Tetsusaiga unable to transform tonight -- and thus rendered a mere katana -- there was nothing to give away his identity to villagers, and Sango had proposed that they brush up on swordfighting skills. She was interested in seeing just what he knew, how much of his fighting skills were raw talent and how much was training. With the sky lightening toward dawn now -- full daybreak was less than an hour away -- the two of them were a pleasant sight to watch, trading blows and critiquing each other's moves.

"They're both amateurs with a blade," Kaede chuckled as she followed Kagome's gaze. "Inuyasha had to learn by watching, I imagine. And Sango, if I'm not mistaken, is mostly trained in using her giant boomerang."

"They're both better than I am." Kagome dropped a hand to Shippo's back in a gentle caress. The little kitsune was curled up beside her, using her thigh as a pillow.

"I imagine Sango would be willing to teach you if you're interested. I don't know that Inuyasha could teach you; he never bothered to learn. If he's the same as he's always been, he just rushes headfirst and relies on his luck and strength."

"Two priestesses, sitting by a fireside, talking about swordplay. Somehow that just doesn't fall into place," a voice said from behind as Miroku emerged from the hut. Kirara trotted at his heels. She'd been watching over him, as per Sango's request.

"How are you feeling, Miroku?"

"Much better. Almost back to normal. Those damned bugs sure do come out of nowhere. From the moment I saw them, I didn't have time to seal up my Wind Tunnel before a huge swarm of them had dived in and stung me." He flexed his right arm. "The arm's still a little stiff and sore, but I see no reason why we can't depart after the sun comes up. I imagine I'll be back to my old self in no time."

"Heavens help us," Kaede murmured.

Miroku followed Kagome's gaze to watch as Inuyasha disarmed Sango, sending her katana flying.

"Hey! Careful! Don't take my whole arm off!" Sango yelled.

"And if I were an enemy, that's exactly what I'd do. After I stabbed you _ here_." He mimed a blow to her abdomen.

"Give over, you oaf, that's excessive. A gut wound puts your opponent out of the fight; there's no reason to cut off an arm on top of that."

"I have a history of hacking arms, you know!"

It took conscious effort on the part of all members of the group to _not_ call Inuyasha by name. They carefully avoided saying any name to him, as a matter of course. It wouldn't do to make some villagers suspicious to see a young man being called by and responding to the name of thehanyou that "haunted" their nearby forest.

"So," Kaede said conversationally. "Tell me more about this confrontation you had with the horse demons."

Kagome sighed. "Well, Inuyasha said he's pretty sure that Sesshomaru killed Nijimaru. Sesshomaru was in a killing rage -- honestly, I didn't realize he had that kind of rage in him, he's usually so calm and cold -- when we left the forest, and Nijimaru had battled him before, with nearly fatal results. As we were leaving the forest, we could hear the sounds of demons fighting."

"What's weird," Miroku said, "is that Inuyasha doubled back after dropping Kagome off just outside the forest. He also forbade any of us to follow him."

"He said he went back to Bokuseno," Kagome said. "I have no reason to doubt his explanation. Why is it so weird?"

"If you had just escaped from getting caught up in a battle between fully-transformed taiyoukai, the last thing I'd think you'd want to do is go anywhere near the area again."

"Our conversation with Bokuseno got interrupted by the attack on Rin," Kagome replied. "Inuyasha didn't get a chance to ask all the questions he wanted, and he didn't want to take me back in there because of how the uma-youkai behave towards humans. I mean, think about it. Kiniromaru shot a little girl from some distance away, simply because she believed Rin was there without permission. Rin could've died. I can imagine that Inuyasha didn't want to risk that happening to any of us."

"Namely you," Kaede added. "So, what happened after that?"

"Nothing, really," Kagome shrugged. "He was back by sundown and we left that same night. I don't know if Kiniromaru left or if she stayed and tried to fight Sesshomaru herself."

"If she did, she's dead now. Sesshomaru is incredibly powerful," Miroku said, situating himself beside Kaede, respectfully placing the elderly priestess between himself and Kagome. He was indebted to Inuyasha for holding off Kagura while Sango and Kagome had gotten him to safety after the poison insects had rendered him too weak to move, and he didn't want to infuriate his friend by appearing to hit on Kagome.

"And you haven't even seen his true form," Kagome retorted. "He's HUGE! He's bigger than Nijimaru's spirit-horse form. He's frightening in his dog form."

"They say his father was the size of a large warship," Kaede said as she sipped at her tea. "The Inu no Taisho had no rival in size. He was a warlord and sorcerer, as well as a demon lord. It's too bad he'd long since passed away by the time I was born."

For another half hour or so they watched in silence as Sango and Inuyasha continued to circle each other, trading strikes. Sango never did disarm Inuyasha, though she did get him at a disadvantage enough times that by the time they stopped it was as much of a draw as anything.

Finally, the two of them gave up and called it a draw. As they came to sit beside the fire with the others, Sango let her hair down from its ponytail. Inuyasha hesitated. "It's almost daybreak. Perhaps I should get going."

"I'll come with you," Kagome said as she stood up. Inuyasha looked at her with an unreadable expression, then nodded.

"So, how good is Sango?" Kagome asked as she and Inuyasha made their way toward the forest.

"Huh?"

"With a sword, you idiot. How good is she?"

"Passable. She should stick to Hiraikotsu though. Come to think of it, though, Kagura's Dance of Blades did some damage to that thing, didn't it? I wonder if she's going to need to repair it again."

Kagome giggled and took his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm escorting you, what does it look like?"

"You really want to know what I think it looks like?"

"Sure."

"Like you're dead scared some monster's going to jump out and eat you." He snorted. "I'm more dangerous than anything in this forest!"

"Not right now, you're not!"

A stray beam of sunlight knifed through the forest and glinted off his hair as he pulled the hairband out. There was an audible heartbeat as his transformation took shape. His hair illuminated from black to silver, his dog ears lifted up off his scalp and his claws visibly lengthened.

"You were saying?" he opened one citrine eye and smirked.

"_Now _you are, I suppose."

"Hold that thought. I'll be right back." He sprang upward and bounded through the trees.

_Beware the Spear Carrier._

"Huh?" Kagome whirled around. "Who said that?"

"Mew?" Kirara tilted her head from where she was sitting on the ground next to Kagome.

"Kirara, when did you come here?"

"Mroo."

_Beware the Spear Carrier._

"Who's speaking?" Kagome scooped up the tiny firecat and held her close, a little nervous at the disembodied voice.

There was a thump behind her as Inuyasha landed. "What's the matter, Kagome?" He'd retrieved his haori and was rearranging the rosary beads over top the haori.

"I heard a voice say 'Beware the Spear Carrier.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Kagome shrugged. Kirara mewed again.

"Kirara?" Inuyasha patted the firecat on the head. "Did you follow us?"

"Mroo."

"Let's go, Kagome," the hanyou said finally. "I think we'd better get moving. There are still shards out there to find and Naraku to defeat."

Kagome glanced up at the trees. There were no demon trees here, but somehow she couldn't shake the dark foreboding feeling. Something was trying to warn them. But what was this Spear Carrier they were supposed to beware of?

* * *

The broken palisade of the Demon Slayers' village loomed ahead. Kagome suppressed a shiver. Sango didn't like coming back here as often as she once had; it had too many sad memories. Still, Hiraikotsu required repairs and Kagome was hoping to borrow some of the arrows Sango remembered were stored in the storehouse.

Miroku stopped abruptly. The rings on his staff jangled at the sudden halt.

"What's the matter, Miroku?" Inuyasha cocked an ear at the monk.

"Something is _really_ wrong."

Inuyasha sniffed the wind. "I don't smell anything."

"That could be because the empty village is upwind. What I'm feeling is behind us." Miroku turned and looked down the trail. "I don't see anything, but there is definitely something back there."

Kagome stiffened. "I... I sense Jewel fragments. Behind us. At least two."

"Fucking hell," Inuyasha growled. "Not that damned wolf again!"

"No," Kagome said hesitantly. "Koga moves a lot more quickly than these are. And these are tainted. Koga's shards are used to increase his speed and power. These are... they're sustaining something... and feeding on hatred. I can feel their taint from here."

The hanyou let out a feral canine growl as his hand came to Tetsusaiga's hilt. Then suddenly there was a flash of black and Inuyasha screamed in blazing agony as a long black spear sliced through his midsection.

Miroku uttered something very un-monk-like as the spear was followed by an arrow that just missed him. Sango, two feet away from Inuyasha, swung Hiraikotsu around and braced it as a shield. Two arrows bounced off it.

"I recognize this spear," Inuyasha grunted laboredly as Kagome pulled the spear out of his torso.

"So do I," Kagome murmured. _Beware the Spear Carrier_...

"Watch yourselves!" Sango shouted. A flash of gold and silver emerged from the forest at the edge of the trail and streaked toward them.

"**Soul Scattering Iron Claws!**" Inuyasha slashed his claws, sending the blades of energy wheeling at the charging opponent.

"Kirara!" Sango commanded her companion. The firecat transformed and lunged forward.

The streak dodged both Inuyasha's attack and the angry firecat, and lunged at Inuyasha. The hanyou drew his sword and slammed its blade into the ground, using it as an impromptu shield.

"Mother of Buddha!" Miroku swore. "Look!"

A cloud of saimyosho darkened the northern horizon.

"I was just about to say that I smell Naraku," Inuyasha said.

"It has to be another incarnation of his!" Sango yelled as she swung Hiraikotsu wildly at their assailant.

"_Incarnation? I am no one's incarnation!_" the opponent, whom they still couldn't see clearly because it moved so fast, laughed contemptuously.

Shippo jumped up ontop of Kagome's head, tracking the swirling opponent. "Show us who you are, coward!" he yelled, leaping straight up. "**FOX FIRE!**"

Their opponent sputtered as it took the full brunt of the fox-fire. Kirara roared and landed square on the demon's shoulders, forcing it to the ground.

"Bloody hell, I feared that it was her!" Inuyasha growled as they stared in disbelief at their attacker.

It was Kiniromaru.

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	11. Part Eleven: Fragmented Soul

****

**Author's Note: **because it seems to be unclear as to what Kiniromaru is, here's the skinny: her mother was a standard uma-youkai horse demon (like Koga and his brethren controlling wolves, the uma-youkai control and command horses) her father is Nijimaru, a guardian demon lord whose true form is a spirit-horse (like Sesshomaru's true form is a spirit-dog). Thus she is half uma-youkai (horse-controlling demon) and half hogosha-youkai (guardian demon).

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Eleven: Fragmented Soul**

This was not the Kiniromaru they remembered. Very little remained of the proud horse demon they'd encountered a month ago. Her golden skin had became a sickly, jaundiced yellow; her platinum hair had no life to it and spilled out of her messy ponytail as though reviled by it; her body armor was shoddily-mended and soiled with travel; and her eyes were dark and blank with hatred.

This was a demon gone mad with grief, pain or anger.

"Great," Miroku groaned, "Naraku's taken advantage of someone else. I wonder what kind of lies or deceptions he's used to ensnare her."

Kagome leaned close to Inuyasha. "She has two Jewel fragments in her chest, right over her heart. And they're black."

"Fucking dammit to hell," the hanyou swore. "She reeks of Naraku, too. Alright, Kiniromaru, hold still. I'll end your misery."

"Wait a minute!" Miroku intercepted him. "Don't kill her! She might be a clue to Naraku's whereabouts."

Inuyasha snarled, but the monk held his ground. "Since that showdown with Naraku you haven't caught more than a trace of him. You said he was badly injured and that he barely escaped with his life. But apparently he's doing well enough that he's able to lure more demons into his traps, probably because he doesn't dare try to create any new ones until he's recreated his own body."

"I wasn't going to kill her, I was just going to slice those Jewel Shards out of her. They're probably what's causing her so much pain."

Kagome interrupted; "Inuyasha, they're too deeply imbedded. You'd have to kill her to get them out."

"Dammit, there goes that theory." Inuyasha frowned at Kiniromaru, who was now too weak to fight off the firecat that had her pinned to the ground. Funny that Shippo's Fox-fire had done so much damage to her. And her a full demon too!

_Wait... _he inhaled deeply, having caught a stray trace scent. _I smell Sesshomaru's venom mixed in with her scent. It's coming from her breath. And there's decay in there too... Oh, I get it now. She's three-quarters dead as it is! She's been fatally poisoned by Sesshomaru's venom, but those Jewel fragments are keeping her from knowing it and are slowing the progress of the poison. That venom is dissolving her from the inside out, inch by inch._

He raised Tetsusaiga. _I can't let her suffer like this. I have to end it for her. This is beyond terrible. This is almost as bad as what Naraku's done with Sango's brother. She's only still alive because of those two shards. Even if Kagome purifies them within Kiniromaru, the poison will taint them again, over and over until she finally dies._ Tetsusaiga glowed slightly as Inuyasha scouted the best place to plunge the blade into the helpless youkai without striking Kirara as well.

"**DANCE OF BLADES!**"

_Fuck. Kagura. Now I _know_ Naraku's involved ass-deep in this._

A crescent-shaped energy blade wheeled down and grazed Kirara's shoulder as the firecat tried to dodge. In moving, she released Kiniromaru, who flung herself forwards with sudden force and violence, drawing a small knife from her belt and swinging it at Inuyasha. The hanyou barely had time to duck and avoid getting stabbed in the heart. As it was, the blade bit deeply into his shoulder.

Kagura somersaulted off of her feather and landed primly in the spot where Kirara had pinned Kiniromaru.

"How disappointing, Kiniromaru. And here I thought your aim with the spear was flawless, unlike your archery. You _were_ aiming for his heart with that spear, weren't you?"

"So, you did make a pact with Naraku, Kiniromaru." Inuyasha shoved the uma-youkai away. "What for? What'd he promise you?"

"He? I made a pact with no one. My business is with you and that disgusting brother yours, but I can't find _him_. Kagura only told me where you could be found, and offered to back me up if your wench and crew interfered. I told her I didn't need her damned help, but she wouldn't listen, obviously."

"Silence, you impudent little bitch," Kagura snarled. "Now what are you waiting for? Finish him off!"

"This rancid halfbreed ought to know why I seek to take his head at least," Kiniromaru growled. "After all, if you hadn't interfered, Inuyasha, the only casualty would have been me. Because you interfered, Nijimaru died and the forest lost its protector. Now humans have overrun my forest, killed most of the horse demons and enslaved the horses. And Sesshomaru left me alive. Had you not interfered, he would have been content with my death. He said so himself and you know it's true anyway."

"So you're coming after me in vengeance because you can't get to Sesshomaru?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I use too big of words for your puny brain to process?" the horse demon's lips drew back in a hateful sneer. "Your head is mine, because had you not interfered, Nijimaru wouldn't have died."

"Nijimaru chose his own fate, you know. And besides, you shouldn't be able to move. You've been poisoned by Sesshomaru's venom too. Your insides are little better than Naraku's miasma. Those two Jewel fragments are the only thing keeping you alive, and you can't even feel the poison because of them."

Kiniromaru looked confused. "Jewel fragments? I have no Jewel fragments. I had a stone-flower but your wench identified it for the counterfeit it was and it was lost in the battle with Sesshomaru anyway."

Inuyasha blinked. "Kagome, you're sure?"

"I can see them."

"You lying wench! I _have_ no fucking Shikon Jewel fragments! I'd know if I'd taken possession of any, wouldn't I?" Kiniromaru clawed at Kagome, who jumped back in surprise.

"Kagura, what is the meaning of this?" Miroku demanded. "You must know something."

Kagura clicked her fan closed and smiled indulgently. "The Shikon Jewel is amazing, isn't it? A single tiny shard contains such powers that it can stop a taiyoukai from dying."

Kiniromaru turned to stare uncomprehending at Kagura.

"Nijimaru was very old for a taiyoukai. He should have been much more powerful than he was. He was a weakling. And now I understand why. I saw the battle," Kagura smirked as she spoke. "It was a rout, really. Nijimaru didn't stand a chance. Oh, he led Sesshomaru on a merry little chase, but in the end Sesshomaru ripped him apart. Quite literally." Kiniromaru flinched visibly. Kagura's smile became bloodless and malicious. "It's a shame, really. Sesshomaru actually did Nijimaru a favor by killing him as such. After all, Naraku wanted to lure Nijimaru and entrap him. He can't touch Sesshomaru's power, but Nijimaru was such a weakling that Naraku, even in his weakened state, could have absorbed him easily. But of course, Sesshomaru thwarted him.

"This little filly here lay on the brink of death, poisoned and battered." Kagura flicked her fan in feigned carelessness, and Kiniromaru blanched. "Naraku decided to use her and her hatred for the hanyou who had interfered. She cursed you, Inuyasha, with her dying breath, crying for your blood as payment. By inserting a Jewel shard in her heart, I was able to spare her life. Now, Naraku would only risk one shard, but as you can probably tell, she has two. Luck and fate provided me with the second shard."

Kiniromaru's eyes were going dark and her breathing became labored and heavy.

"Would you like to know where the second shard came from, Kiniromaru?" That bitch was enjoying this! Kiniromaru sank to her hands and knees, her breaths now coming in ragged gasps. "The second shard came from none other than your dearly departed sire. Ironic, isn't it? The demon lord who professed to hate the Shikon Jewel and who refused to allow any who possessed fragments of it to enter his forest, was harboring a shielded, dormant shard himself, deep within his heart."

"You lie!" Kiniromaru wailed, her voice raw with agonized emotion. "Nijimaru hated the Shikon Jewel because he knew of its taint!"

"Of course he did," Kagura said with false congeniality, "because he knew firsthand. Tell me, Kiniromaru, why would a full taiyoukai land-ruler suddenly diminish in power in the span of a few months? If he ruled the forest, why did he live in such fear of regular demons? Why did he resort to having Royakan patrol his forest?"

The wind sorceress then flicked her fan open. "The answer lies within your heart. Literally. He harbored a tainted fragment of the Jewel. He used most of his powers of shielding to suppress the Jewel Shard, to keep it dormant and undetectable to even the most sensitive of searchers. After all, the girl over there -- " she motioned toward Kagome " -- can sense them, and I'm sure she didn't know about his fragment either. Nijimaru sought to ensure that the Shikon no Tama would never be whole.

"And in doing so, he provided his own downfall. His shielding weakened him and he fell prey to Sesshomaru's temper. Ironic, isn't it, how things end up?"

"You... bitch..." Kiniromaru gasped for breath. "Go... to... Hell..."

Kagura turned an eye on Inuyasha; "Here's the truly ironic part. The second Shard provided some measure of healing. It reversed some of the damage done by the venom. But the malice was strong enough to taint even that Shard. Thus, Kiniromaru's own festering hatred of you, the rage that has empowered the Jewels and enabled her to move about, has also given way to a rampaging consumption. Even as she stands... or kneels... there, she is being dissolved from the inside out."

Kagura clicked her fan closed with a sharp snap and tilted her head at Kiniromaru. "Shall I remove the Shards? Since you don't want them, I can take them back. Then you'll feel every little scoring from the venom, and you'll die writhing in excrutiating agony."

Inuyasha stepped between Kagura and Kiniromaru. "You're not getting those Shards without a fight."

"I see," Kagura grinned maliciously. "Very well, then, Inuyasha. If you can take those Shards from Kiniromaru, consider them a gift." She reached up, plucked a feather from her hair, called up a whirlwind, and soared away on her feather.

Inuyasha turned to face Kiniromaru. "There's no help for it. I have to kill her."

"Uh, Inuyasha," Miroku inched closer. "Is it just me, or are the saimyoshogetting closer?"

Inuyasha favored the monk with an "I-don't-care-about-the-damned-bugs" look, but Sango replied; "I think they're going to attack us! They're not here just to prevent your Wind Tunnel - they're really going to fight us!"

The cloud of poisonous insects was surrounding them and moving in steadily.

"Fuck!" Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga in frustration. "NOW what?"

Fight Kiniromaru _and_ a cloud of poisonous insects at the same time?

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	12. Part Twelve: Taiyoukai Heritage

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twelve: TaiyoukaiHeritage**

A frigid breeze combed through the argent tresses of the demon lord poised on a grassy slope overlooking an old battlefield.

_It feels like winter is coming,_ Sesshomaru contemplated. _But it's closer than it should be. Winter shouldn't be approaching this quickly. This isn't natural._

"L-Lord Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru ground his back teeth in aggravation. Jaken was a very loyal servant, but there were times when his nasal-pitched voice was most unwelcome.

"My lord?"

"What is it Jaken? If you must interrupt me, make it worth my time."

"Well, it's just, my lord, that Rin seems terribly cold. Perhaps there's something you could do?"

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder. Aun was grazing contentedly. Rin was perched on its shoulders, huddling close to its short manes. She was terribly cold, her posture said as much. She wasn't complaining, though. She knew better than to trouble her lord with her trifles.

Sesshomaru flicked his eyes toward Jaken momentarily. The toad-like demon was also watching the dragon and the little girl. It was strange, really, how Jaken had recently grown protective of the child as well. He'd been a superior pest when that abominable Naraku had her kidnapped as bait and a shield. The little pest had kept hounding Sesshomaru about rescuing the girl, as if Sesshomaru would let an idiot like Naraku have his way with a ward Sesshomaru himself had taken into his care. Besides, the girl's loyalty and obedience were like that of a dog, and Sesshomaru's canine nature could appreciate it. She was not a heavy burden. It was a slight inconvenience to stop frequently so she could forage or sleep, but he was not in any kind of hurry, so it remained manageable inconvenience.

_Father... is this why you became so fond of humans? Did you encounter some with the canine qualities we are most proud of, the loyalty and obedience?_

Sesshomaru returned his gaze to the horizon, bristling at the icy wind. The temperature didn't bother him. It was the concept of a slow poisoning of his land that made him want to shudder.

_I must uncover the source of this taint. I will not allow this domain given me by Father to be sullied. This land may not yet recognize me as its master, but I will rule it no less. I have no choice but to commune with the earth, to learn what it knows._

Communion with the earth was bloody hard. It was one of the last things the Inu no Taisho had taught his heir. Shortly after he'd taught the technique to Sesshomaru, the great Dog General had joined combat with the dragon Ryukotsusei, receiving a wound that later claimed his life.

Off and on through the long decades following the Inu no Taisho's death, Sesshomaru had tried to establish a rapport with the land, to little avail. It did not recognize him as its master. He had hoped possession of Tetsusaiga would remedy that, but it was now clear that that wasn't going to be. He had to destroy Tetsusaiga and its wielder in order to gain supremacy. The land didn't recognize Inuyasha as its master either, but as long as the hanyou lived and thrived, the land would not acknowledge Sesshomaru as its liege.

Tenseiga probed his mind, its presence colored with annoyance.

_Damn sword. Of course I get the one with its own conscience._

"Rin."

"Yes, my lord?" Her response was groggy but prompt.

"Come here."

As Rin climbed down from Aun, Sesshomaru took a seat in the grass, carefully arranging his clothing so as to avoid any unsightly grass stains. Rin presented herself before him, her wide eyes utterly trusting. He could do anything to her and she wouldn't protest, wouldn't even question it. For a moment he was reminded of the stink of fear that had cloaked her when he'd found her being assaulted by that undead boy controlled by Naraku. She had been afraid for her life, having found new reason to live, and had feared that she did not mean enough to him for him to come to her rescue. She had questioned her own worth.

Sesshomaru did not willingly betray trust invested in him. Leaving Rin to that possessed lad would have been as much of a betrayal of trust as if he'd swung the weapon at her himself. By using Tenseiga to revive her when the wolves had killed her, he had made a vow to protect her. Tenseiga would not allow him to let her suffer. In using the blade, he'd bonded with it, and it would not let him neglect Rin.

"Sit down," Sesshomaru commanded of Rin, indicating a spot to his immediate right. She obeyed without question, gallantly trying not to show how miserable she was in the cold air. Tenseiga prickled at the back of his mind with peevish insistence.

He loosened the long white fur stole that circled his right shoulder and draped his back. With a flick of his wrist, he cast a length of it around the girl's body, curling it around her gently. The uncharacteristic altruism caused her to momentarily forget her manners and stare at him, wide-eyed in surprise. She regained her manners and looked down submissively.

"Thank you very much, Lord Sesshomaru. I was very cold." She hugged the fur close and snuggled into its warmth.

Tenseiga stopped pestering him.

A smile threatened to tug at his mouth. The sword was like a mother, really. Sometimes he wondered if Tenseiga was being overly protective of the girl, afraid he would actually let her freeze to death.

He liked the girl. She wasn't useful like Jaken was, but she was pleasant to have around nonetheless. And she obeyed his orders.

Not to mention that she was a nice boost to the ego at times when frustration got the better of him...

A particularly strong gust whipped his left sleeve up off the grass, drawing his attention back to the subject at hand.

He put his hand on the ground, flexing his claws.

_I am Sesshomaru, son of the Dog General. I am your liege and master._

**You are not. **

_I am Sesshomaru. I am your master._

**No master have I.**

_I will be your master. You will acknowledge me in time._

**What do you want?**

_Your cooperation. Something sinister blows in the wind._

**I am not responsible for the wind.**

_Something taints the seasons, hastens winter. You know how important balance is; Winter cannot come so soon, or the balance of nature is entirely disrupted._

**The seasons are not out of balance. Winter is no closer than it should be now.**

That was the last thing he'd expected.

_The air is cold._

**I do not know the air.**

_There... there is a taint in the land. I can feel it. Direct me to it and I will exterminate it. I am the lord of this land, and I will protect it._

There was a long pause.

**The winter you sense is demonic in nature. It is not true winter. You are a dog-demon. Use your nose.**

Demonic in nature?

Sesshomaru let out a soft string of obscene curses, keeping his voice low. There was nothing so infuriating as an arrogant vassal who refused to acknowledge its master!

* * *

"These damn bugs," Inuyasha snarled, cocking his claws with a crack of his knuckles. "What the hell are they doing?"

"I think they're... restraining us," Sango murmured. The saimyosho had formed a dome around them and loomed threateningly, but not aggressively.

"They're to make sure you foolish idiots don't interfere," Kiniromaru growled as she grasped her pike. "I'll fight you one-on-one, Inuyasha. If _they_ so much as draw a weapon, the insects will swoop in and sting."

"Be very careful, Inuyasha," Miroku warned. "She might not be able to throw the pike with precision, but she's probably deadly with that thing in her hands. If she pierces your heart, you're a goner."

"I know," Inuyasha said. "I know better than anyone what happens when the heart of a demon is struck. I still have a scar, you know. Kiniromaru, I have a different idea."

"You're in no position to bargain!"

"Hear me out. I'll put aside my sword. You put aside your weapons. Then we fight with what weapons we were born with. You're a demon, you've got fangs and claws. We'll settle it fairly that way."

Kiniromaru hesitated. Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga, pulling the sheath out of his belt and holding it up, as if in offering.

"You're dying, Kiniromaru. The harder you fight, the faster the poison will circulate, shard or no shard. Your honor is all you have left."

The horse demon sighed and stabbed the pike into the ground. "You're on. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to rip you to pieces the same way your brother did my father."

Inuyasha chuckled darkly; "We'll see about that. I know my way around a fang-and-claw fight. You can't possibly be as fast as Sesshomaru or Koga."

"Your underestimations will prove fatal," Kiniromaru retorted as she unstrapped the katana from her waist.

Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "Here." He handed her Tetsusaiga. "If something weird happens, you know what to do with this." His gaze was hard and precise. Kagome stared back, suddenly unable to comprehend what he was trying to say.

Inuyasha exited the circle created by the saimyosho. Kiniromaru crossed her arms in disgust. "All your weapons, hanyou."

"I carry only Tetsusaiga, unless you consider my claws -- "

Kiniromaru stepped up in heartbeat and tapped at the rosary around his neck. "This! Take this off too!"

Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief. "You think this is a weapon?"

"It has spiritual powers. I can feel them."

Inuyasha shrugged; "Fine then." He grasped the beads and tried to pull the necklace off. The beads glowed bright pink and contracted, resisting removal. He gave it a few hefty tugs and gave up. "You see? I can't remove them. The only one who can remove them is the woman who put them on me, and she's back at the village a day's travel that direction. She's an elderly priestess."

"Oh, whatever. If it doesn't come off, then I guess I can't be harmed by it."

_What in the world? Doesn't he want that off? _Kagome racked her brain for an explanation. _It's like he wants that to stay on..._

* * *

"What the hell is he thinking?" Miroku gaped as the two demons squared off. "She's desperate. If she backs him into a corner, she could very easily trigger..." he trailed off as an idea struck him. "Is that what he's thinking, the idiot?"

"I'm pretty sure he is," Sango said. "He said last night while we were sparring that he was more comfortable fighting with his claws, but that that carried the risk of a demon transformation. I think he's counting on that possibility. That's why he gave Tetsusaiga to Kagome rather than just set it down. If Kiniromaru gets him at a disadvantage and he transforms, I think Tetsusaiga will protect us from him."

Hindered as he was by his gut wound, Inuyasha soon learned that Kiniromaru was indeed very fast and ruthless. She was probably every bit as fast as Koga, and she was focused on the kill, unlike Koga, who fought him as a pastime, for the pure entertainment of the fight. His demon blood struggled to heal the wound as fast as it could, but in the meantime he wasn't quite up to speed. Of course, Kiniromaru was practically dead herself, so her coordination was off. He got a few good blows on her, but she didn't seem to notice..

Her eyes started to smolder with rage as her speed increased and she started targeting his chest with her claws.

_Damn, she's good!_ he wrenched himself sideways, just barely escaping getting his chest ripped open. _And she looks like she isn't the least bit fatigued! Damn, how am I going to do this? With a wound like this, I can't move very fast, and she's getting too close for comfort..._

His vision pulsed red.

_Oh no... this is happening way too fast!_

In desperation he lunged at her, intent on grabbing her by the throat.

She pulled a move he'd only seen Koga execute. She flipped forward and kicked out with both feet, striking him solidly in the chest and sending him flying.

The demon blood in his veins roared to life.

Kiniromaru moved in for the kill, when the wind shifted and she caught an altered scent.

_What the hell...?_

Inuyasha stood up, his eyes having gone blood red. His fangs and claws had both doubled in length. His cheeks were adorned with jagged purple stripes that were sickeningly reminiscent of Sesshomaru's facial markings.

But most frightening of all was the complete lack of humanity, the complete madness and bloodlust in those red eyes. This wasn't the hanyou she had been fighting. He'd become something else entirely. A monster.

Despite his gut wound, he launched at her as though he were uninjured, and struck her with those lengthened claws. As he raked across her face with them, she silently screamed within her heart for deliverance.

Blood flowed into her eyes, blurring her vision. Another blow, and then another horrific scoring by those claws again...

Her heart skipped a beat, and then another... the shards were failing her. The poison was reaching her vitals...

Her vision darkened. It felt like every bone in her body was being broken simultaneously. As she crashed into the ground after a slashing blow, she marveled that she could even feel the earth beneath her...

A bolt of agony seared through her from her forehead down her spine. In desperation, she threw her head back, baring her throat for the kill. _Just let it be over with!_

Her consciousness altered in that instant...

* * *

"Holy hell, what the hell is going on now!" Miroku gripped his staff, cursing the saimyosho even as he spoke and observed.

Kiniromaru was engulfed in a reddish-gold aura. Her eyes had gone red and her skin was rippling like it had melted and liquefied. But instead of her dropping dead, she began to shapeshift...

Inuyasha, even in his full demon form, halted in uncertainty as she writhed. The wind changed course again, and a part of his mind -- the rational part that clung to existence within this monster body of his -- recognized it for what it was a split second before it was confirmed by sight.

Instead of Kiniromaru, his opponent was a giant golden horse.

It was no surprise, really. She _was_ a full demon with a taiyoukai sire. Nijimaru's true form had been a spirit-horse.

With her life in dire jeopardy, Kiniromaru had just forced a transformation into a spirit-horse.

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	13. Part Thirteen: Fire and Ice

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Thirteen: Fire and Ice**

Kiniromaru wasted no time attacking Inuyasha. She didn't even bother to be amazed by her new body. Fully transformed as he was, Inuyasha wasn't able to strategize a bit, and fell victim to her feints and dodge. So far the great golden mare was just using brute strength. But Kagome noticed that where the horse stepped, the grass covering the ground seemed to wither or grow brittle.

"Sweet Buddha, if we don't do something, he's going to get his ass handed to him on a platter, sufficiently violated!" Miroku ground his jaws in frustration.

Sango and Kagome looked at him askance. "Say what?"

"Nevermind that! We've got to do something!"

"Get down, everyone," Shippo said, pulling out a few little firecrackers from his vest. "I'll throw some fire at the bugs."

"Great idea, Shippo! Kagome, you get Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha. If he stays like this, she'll kill him!" Sango grabbed a hank of Kirara's fur. "I'll try to distract the horse if we can just get away from these bugs."

Shippo hopped a bit to gain some height. Kagome ducked down, holding Tetsusaiga over her shoulders.

"**FOX FIRE!**" the kitsune screamed, throwing his firecrackers simultaneously and lighting them. The saimyosho scattered quickly. Kagome bolted forward, focused on Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Listen to me!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she hurtled toward the battling youkai. She saw Inuyasha's right ear twitch in response to her shouts. Good, he could hear her. Maybe the Sit command would still work.

"INUYASHA! **SIT, BOY**!"

_WHAM!_ he went face first into the trail dirt. The spirit-horse snorted and shied in surprise.

Inuyasha pushed himself up out of the dirt and turned to her. The red eyes and purple stripes had gone away. He was back to normal.

"Inuyasha! Here!" she tossed Tetsusaiga through the air to him. He reached up and caught the sheath of the sword, his other hand grasping Tetsusaiga's hilt and drawing it forth.

"Kiniromaru, our deal is off. I can't compete with you when you're ten times my size. Kagome, take cover. This could get damned ugly."

"_Hiraikotsu!_" Sango, aboard Kirara, hurled the battered boomerang through the air, striking Kiniromaru in the flank. The mare screamed in outrage and launched skyward. As she arched through the air, her eyes became a cold red shade.

The mare opened her mouth, a pair of wicked serpent-like fangs swinging forth.

"What the fuck!" Inuyasha leaped away as the fangs spurted forth a blue liquid that quickly turned silver and solidified. "Ice! She's spitting ice! Everyone get clear of her!"

"She's been freezing the ground wherever she steps ever since she transformed," Miroku said as he pulled a few sutras from within his robes, swatting wasps away with his staff as he aimed the sutras at Kiniromaru.

"Those aren't going to work," Sango said desperately. "Sutras don't work on taiyoukai!"

"They'll slow her down, I think."

"I don't think she's going to feel it!"

"Do I have any other options, Sango! I can't exactly open the Wind Tunnel!"

Shippo was just barely holding off the saimyosho with his Fox-fire, when a blaze of fire scored in from the left. Shippo just barely got out of the way of the red-hot jettison of fire blazing forward and cutting a huge swath through the saimyosho. In response, the mare reared and slammed her front hooves onto the earth. The ground began to buckle and turn black.

"So this is the source of the taint," a voice said from just beyond sight. "What is she doing still alive?"

Inuyasha snatched Kagome up as Kiniromaru pawed through the air and nearly flattened her. "Oh, fuck, I'm so sick of meeting up with him!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I just heard Sesshomaru."

The demon lord emerged from the forest with Tokijin in his hand. He looked calm from a distance, but his eyes betrayed his irritation. Next to him, Jaken stood holding up the Staff of Two Heads, which was emitting a fine arc of fire.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha growled

"I was following a demonic taint in the land that seems to be bringing winter too quickly. I see that it is that mare that's causing it, but she smells like Kiniromaru, who should be dead."

"You missed," Inuyasha snarled. "You poisoned her but you didn't bother to finish her off."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "I pierced her heart with venomous claws. If that is not 'finishing her off' then I don't need to do that under any other circumstance."

"Naraku got his claws into her," Miroku interrupted before the brothers could start fighting each other. "She's now got two tainted Jewel shards."

"I see. That must be what's causing the taint. She's got a familiarity with ice and now that she's got Shikon fragments, she's turning it all against the land. Well, I shall remedy that. Jaken, I suggest you move." The demon lord's eyes widened slightly and he drew forth a swirl of wind from the earth at his feet. His eyes grew red and a red aura engulfed him.

"What's going on?" Miroku turned to Inuyasha.

The hanyou didn't mince words, giving the monk a violent shove. "Run, you fucking idiot! He's transforming!"

Kiniromaru visibly quailed when Sesshomaru emerged from the cloud of transformation.

"Holy Buddha, he's enormous!" Miroku breathed as the white taiyoukai dog stepped forward with a lumpy three-legged gait. The golden mare, who was actually smaller than the white dog, backed away, her posture that of fear.

"The lack of a front leg isn't hindering him at all," Sango observed. "Unbelievable. The loss of a limb hasn't slowed him down a bit!"

"What do you expect? He _is_ related to me," Inuyasha scoffed. "Not that I care about _that_..."

Sesshomaru reared back on his hind legs and swiped at Kiniromaru with his right paw. The mare ducked and dodged, but crashed into the trees. She wasn't used to her size, unlike Sesshomaru, who was perfectly aware of his limitations when in this form.

Suddenly, a flash of magenta streaked across the area, grazing Kiniromaru in the chest. The mare screamed in pain and collapsed with a mighty crash. Sesshomaru backed away, looking perplexed. He illuminated and contracted, returning to his humanoid form.

"That was a purifying arrow," Sango said. "And if Kagome didn't shoot it..."

"Don't kill her, Inuyasha," Kikyo called from where she'd emerged from the forest. "I fired that arrow deliberately to miss, to graze her with its aura only, to knock her back and reverse her transformation."

"I'm not the one you should be telling this to anyway," Inuyasha snapped. "Try commanding Sesshomaru."

The demon lord ignored Inuyasha's taunts and knelt where he stood, brushing his hand across the tainted earth. "Damn her, poisoning my land." His voice was calm, but his words were angry.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha's left ear twitched in confusion.

"Kiniromaru has been tainting the land with her hatred. Perhaps not deliberately, but she has done so nonetheless." Sesshomaru stood up. "Well, she is no longer doing it. I am finished here. We are leaving, Jaken."

"Hold it, Sesshomaru! Why are you here? Why do you keep showing up, and then not finishing off your opponents?"

"I am the ruler of this land; I am its protector. Think of it this way, Inuyasha. Why did our esteemed father battle a dragon like Ryukotsusei? It has to do with protecting what is entrusted to you. Stopping the taint is the goal, not destroying the enemy." With that, Sesshomaru left.

Kagome knelt by the unconscious Kiniromaru, who had reverted to her human-like form as well. Her chest was burned from the aura of Kikyo's sacred arrow, but the Jewel shards remained within her heart.

"Don't kill her," Kikyo instructed. "Leave the Jewel shards in her, too. Take her somewhere and let her recover."

"Are you insane? Have you finally gone mad? She's already mostly dead."

Kikyo gave Inuyasha a disgusted look. "Don't ask questions. I have my reasons."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put her out of her misery!"

"Because there is something strange about the larger shard. It is behaving strangely. Listen to me, Inuyasha. Shikon shards shouldn't possess healing powers, but one of those shards is indeed trying to heal the damage. I want Kagome to observe Kiniromaru as she recovers. If there is something about that larger Shard that can heal its host, I need to know about it. I can use that against Naraku. I will now go back into hiding. Naraku is still after me. I will return in a month's time."

"Kikyo!" The priestess had vanished before Inuyasha could grab her and restrain her. "Damn her! Damn her for interfering!"

"We've got to try to help Kiniromaru," Kagome said. "She's kind of right about one thing - had you not interfered with her battle with Sesshomaru, she wouldn't be where she is now. And if Kikyo's right and the Jewel shard is behaving weirdly, it could be a clue to destroying Naraku. We're right here outside Sango's village. What's the harm of trying to help her?"

"She hasn't exactly been charitable towards us," Miroku pointed out. "She won't thank us for our help."

"He's right," Sango agreed.

Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga. "If Sesshomaru wanted her dead, she'd be dead. He must have an agenda with her too." He crouched down beside Kiniromaru, who was still unconscious. "Well, okay, but if she's suffering, you guys have to let me put her out of it. It's not fair to make an animal -- or demon -- suffer when they want nothing more than to die and get it over with." He hoisted Kiniromaru up onto his back. "Let's go, Sango. I'm hungry and this damned hole in my gut is starting to itch."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	14. Part Fourteen: Aftermath

****

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Fourteen: Aftermath**

The climb to the Slayers' village was torturous for Inuyasha, who had lost a considerable amount of blood in the fight and had expended about all the energy he had in the process. Transforming into a full demon was exhausting because he tended to move a lot faster and fight a lot harder. Plus he had had to fight like hell to keep his sanity within reach of Kagome's voice. It was every bit as exhausting as trying to swim against a raging current while trying to fight Koga using only fangs and claws. By the time they reached the gateway itself, Inuyasha's vision was beginning to blur. Miroku put a hand on his shoulder, silently bracing him and lending his own strength. Kagome noted that the monk deliberately avoided touching Kiniromaru at all. This seemed really out of character of him and she resolved to grill him about it. Granted, they hadn't encountered too many female demons in their travels, but Miroku was hardly one to curb his flirtatious tendencies just because the woman was a demon and not a human. And she knew that Miroku refrained from flirting too much with _her_ because Inuyasha was jealous enough to pound the monk to a pulp just to teach him a lesson.

Once inside the village, Inuyasha sank to one knee and shrugged the unconscious uma-youkai off his back and onto the ground. Miroku managed to catch her before she hit the ground too hard. "Careful with her, Inuyasha! She's pretty ill."

"Keh!" Inuyasha spat. "I still think we should put her out of her misery. What the hell is Kikyo up to, making us do this?"

"The first order of business should be to bathe her," Sango said pragmatically. "She's covered in blood and dirt, and I think she's got some of Sesshomaru's venom -- recent splashes of it -- on her, which are burning her skin. Come on, Kagome, let's get started. You prepare the bath and I'll go find some other clothes for her. That body armor of hers will need some serious repair."

Shippo and Kirara set about foraging for herbs and vegetables. Miroku strong-armed Inuyasha into stripping to the waist so that the monk could have a good look at his injuries. Kagome and Sango bathed and treated Kiniromaru's battered body. The demon came to while they were in the process of scrubbing the dried blood off her chest. However, the loss of blood and the effects of the venom rendered her too weak to move much and she declined to comment.

"This is very strange," Kagome commented, hesitantly touching the poorly-healed puncture wound over Kiniromaru's heart. She fought down a blush as the demon flinched. Kiniromaru didn't seem the least bit ashamed of her own nudity, but the old wound was clearly sensitive.

"What is?" Sango asked. "The wound? I think that's where Sesshomaru clawed her last time. He said he pierced her heart."

"I meant the Jewel fragments. The one on the... left?... is slightly larger, but it's... it's almost like it's about to break in two. Wait... the shards are kind of moving..." Kagome narrowed her eyes and tried to focus on the tainted glow she knew only she could see. "They're kind of moving, switching places..."

"Are they moving in time with her heartbeat?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe that's why. That's where the shards are, isn't it? In her heart."

"Yeah. So they must have been implanted into the heart muscle, and as it beats they move with the muscle tissues. Still, a human heart doesn't move that drastically... I've seen videos of a heart beating..."

"She's not human."

"I know that," Kagome waved a hand irritably, "but I can't imagine that human-shaped demons are all that different. Well, whatever." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Back to the one shard, it's... one side of it is black, but the other side of it is trying to... it's not purifying the other, but it's trying to overpower the corrupted part of it. The other shard is as black as any I've seen."

"Can you purify them without taking them from her?"

"I can try."

Kagome put both of her hands over the uma-youkai's heart and focused her concentration on the two Jewel fragments. She vaguely heard Kiniromaru's swift intake of breath - akin to a gasp - as she did so, but tried to ignore it.

_There they are. If I can just reach them with my power, I can remove the taint for a while._

Kagome formed an arrow in her mind and shot it at the larger of the two fragments. As it struck, she felt the poison taint in the fragment evaporate. With a quick turn of thought she fired another mental arrow at the other fragment, purifying it as well.

"Did it work?" Sango put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome opened her eyes -- only belatedly realizing that she'd clenched them in concentration -- and noted somewhat extraneously that Kiniromaru had lost consciousness again. The purification must've been pretty painful for her.

"I think so." Kagome pulled her hand away from Kiniromaru's chest and studied the cleansed light of the fragments. There was something unusual about that larger fragment... "I... I think that one is trying to heal something. I don't get it -- I've never known Shikon fragments to actually heal. And why the one and not the other?"

"Do you suppose the one that's trying to heal her is the one that came from Nijimaru?"

"Well, I can't imagine any Jewel coming from Naraku would have that ability. But why would Nijimaru's?"

Sango shrugged. "Out of curiosity, how much larger is it? Is it two shards in one?"

"No, it's only slightly larger. The regular one is about three-quarters the size of the larger one. I think it's just a slightly larger fragment."

"Does it still look like it's trying to split in half?"

"Well... sort of. And not in half, so much as a small piece of it, about a third of it or so, is either straining to stay attached, or straining to break away. I can't tell..."

Sango frowned in contemplation. "I think I'd better go do some research when we get done with her. Shall we dress her now?"

* * *

"Oh fuck no, no, no," Inuyasha growled in the back of his throat, startling Shippo. The kitsune was playing with Kirara.

"What's the matter?" Miroku looked up. He'd been standing before the many graves of the villagers, in the process of offering prayers for the departed, when Inuyasha jumped to his feet and snarled.

"Stinking wolf," the hanyou snarled. "What's he doing around here, near a village?"

"That must mean that Koga's coming here. Well, he's in for a rude shock if he's hunting humans," Miroku said, leaning his staff against his shoulder and returning to prayer. "Don't worry about it, Inuyasha. Besides, if you're worried about Kagome's safety with Kiniromaru around, having Koga around as well will be a bonus. You know he stops at nothing to protect her, just as you do."

Inuyasha growled wordlessly.

A few moments later, Koga emerged from the palisade gate, flanked by his two bumbling packmates Ginta and Hakkaku.

"I thought I smelled you, Mutt-face," the wolf said complacently. "I also smell that conniving bitch Kagura. Where is she? Did you let her get away again?"

"She made her getaway as usual," Miroku said before Inuyasha could snap a retort. "Left us with one helluva strong opponent to keep us busy so that we didn't even see which direction she went in and the saimyoshomasked her scent trail."

"Figures," Koga snorted. "Mutt-face, you couldn't finish her off, eh?"

"Shove it, wolf," Inuyasha snarled. "I was a little preoccupied with Kiniromaru trying to kill me."

"Miroku," Kagome called from the bath-house. "Can you come help us? She's really too heavy for either of us to carry."

Miroku hesitated. Inuyasha scoffed. "Bah, weakling. I'll do it."

Kagome noticed Koga. "Oh, hello, Koga!

"Touch her and die, wolf-cub!" Inuyasha spat as Kagome ushered him into the bath-house to retrieve Kiniromaru.

Koga smirked; "Whatever, dog-breath."

"What brings you here?" Kagome inquired, hoping that if she kept the wolf talking, he wouldn't have time to do anything that might set Inuyasha off. She didn't want to see Inuyasha exacerbating his wounds before she had had a chance to treat them.

"I smelled Kagura."

"Here? In the village?"

"No, outside, a little ways away. But then I smelled you and Mutt-face and thought I'd see what you were up to. What _are_ you up to anyway?"

"Remember that female horse demon from the last time we met up?"

"The one on the yellow horse? Yeah, kinda. Big attitude, as I recall. Mouthy and bossy."

"Well, to make a long story short, apparently she got into a nasty fight with Sesshomaru, and was nearly poisoned to death by his toxic claws. The forest guardian was killed in the process, and Kiniromaru is hell-bent on killing Inuyasha in revenge."

Koga blinked. "Huh?"

"I'll explain better a little later. Just keep in mind that since the last time you saw her, she's been nearly poisoned by Sesshomaru's venom, and Naraku decided to make use of her. She's now got two Jewel shards in her heart. She's hell-bent on killing Inuyasha. However, one of her Jewel fragments is behaving strangely, so we're trying to heal her a little to see if the behavior of the Jewel shard can be used as a clue to defeating Naraku."

"Uh, okay... Geez, Mutt-face, you sure have a lot of enemies. Makes me kind of jealous."

"Kiss my ass, wolf!" came the predictable reply.

"Why don't you stay with us for a while?" Miroku offered. "I'm sure we can scavenge up more food. You three are looking a little hungry."

"That's an excellent idea!" Kagome enthused.

_Wait a minute! What am I saying! Having Koga around will put Inuyasha on edge and make it impossible for me to treat his injuries!_

Ginta and Hakkaku looked expectantly at Koga, their eyes practically begging him to accept the offer. Koga sighed; "Sure, why not? The forest around here looks ripe for hunting. Go see if you can find something," he addressed the two wolf-demons directly. Ginta and Hakkaku took the command without question and trotted off to go find something to eat.

Koga crossed his arms and regarded Kagome measuringly. "So, explain more about this Kiniromaru. I don't understand what her grudge against Mutt-face is. What the hell happened after we left you guys?"

* * *

By the time dinner was ready, Inuyasha had calmed down from learning that Koga and his brood would be spending the night - and perhaps a few more nights - in the village with them.

Kiniromaru came to again once they'd laid her out on a futon. However, apart from glaring coldly at them, she offered no other interaction. She ignored any questions and refused to even acknowledge anyone. She refused food and turned away when Shippo tried to coax her into talking.

Finally, the group gave up on trying to convince her to eat something and tackled their meal. Koga brooded on what Kagome had told him about the circumstances surrounding Kiniromaru's arrival here. Ginta and Hakkaku, oblivious to it all, kept up a lively banter, but Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was unusually quiet and withdrawn.

Actually, so was Miroku.

"That reminds me," Kagome said. "Miroku, I have a question for you."

"Yes?" The monk put his bowl down in anticipation of her question.

"Are you afraid of Kiniromaru?"

That was probably the last thing he'd expected her to say, and he stared at her, agape. "What?"

"You act like you don't even want to touch her. That's not like you."

Miroku maintained a "WTF?" expression.

"Whenever you come across a pretty lady, you're always so helpful with them," Shippo reasoned. "So why do you avoid her? She's pretty."

"Well, for starters, she's a demon..."

"That never stopped you before," Sango snapped.

Miroku's left eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Fine. She creeps me out. Happy now?"

"Creeps you out?" Shippo tilted his head and widened his eyes. "How? She seems harmless enough to me."

Inuyasha grunted. "Harmless? That horse? Hardly."

"Well, she's pretty sick right now."

Miroku frowned in contemplation. "I don't know what it is about Kiniromaru, but I get a weird feeling around her. My gut instinct is to stay away from her. I can't tell you why I feel that way, because I don't know, but I just... she strikes me as ten times more dangerous than Sesshomaru."

"I don't know about _that_," Inuyasha said, "but she's dangerous. Very dangerous. Whenever I'm near her now, Tetsusaiga reacts."

"How?"

"It feels like it's straining against the sheath, like it wants me to draw it. Or maybe it's just warning me. But here's the thing: it's never done that before, not like this."

"What's that supposed to mean, Mutt-face?"

"Considering that the Tetsusaiga's primary purpose is as a weapon to defend humanity," Miroku said quietly, "one must assume that it is aware of Kiniromaru's inner thoughts towards humans. Unlike any other demon we've encountered, she must hate humans with a fury. She said herself that her tribe was slaughtered or enslaved by humans. And the forest uma-youkai were duty-bound to kill any human that wandered into Nijimaru's forest without his permission, so obviously she had little regard for humans to begin with." The monk looked meaningfully at Koga. "You ought to know where she's coming from on this. You lost your tribe."

Koga cocked an eyebrow. "I'm going after the demons responsible for the slaughter of my tribe. I don't give a damn about other demons, unless they are either in my way or threatening my mate." Inuyasha growled. "I don't hate other demons in general, or even half-demons, though the two I know of are both assholes."

"There's nothing rational about hatred," Miroku replied.

"I want all of you humans to stay away from her," Inuyasha said calmly, his voice steely with resolve. "Especially you, Kagome. You are _not_ to be around her by yourself. Ever. She's ruthless and filled with hatred. And she knows what it'll mean to me if she kills you." He looked up at Kagome. The look in his citrine eyes sent chills down her spine.

"I don't do this very often," Koga said finally, "but I agree with him. That horse demon sounds bloody dangerous."

"I want you to promise me you will follow my instructions, Kagome," Inuyasha added. "You have a bad habit of disregarding my warnings. I'm dead serious here. She's not the kind to toy with her prey. If she gets the chance, she'll rip out your throat before you can even scream. Don't be fooled by her apparent weakness. She did me a good number out there on the battlefield. She's every bit as quick as Koga, and all she has to do is get one good lunge in and you're gone."

"But how can I monitor the Shikon shard if you won't let me get close to her? I need to be close at hand to see the shard's behavior, you know!"

"Just don't go near her alone. Have either me or Koga with you when you're around her. I don't trust her. I need you to give me your word, Kagome. I need you to promise me you'll do what I say in this. There's no way you can predict what she'll do next, even looking at those shards. Don't go near her alone. I need you to promise me that."

The intensity of his speech was perhaps the most disturbing thing. _I don't think I've ever seen him this spooked. Not even with Muso..._

"All right, Inuyasha, you have my word. But that doesn't mean I won't be tending to her. I'll just make sure someone else is there with me."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed; "Either me or Koga. I don't think anyone else can move fast enough to intercept her if she attacks. Mind you I'm not thrilled with the idea of Koga doing this, but if he's going to stay here a while, he might as well make himself useful."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	15. Part Fifteen: To Be Or Not To Be

****

**Disclaimer**: The chant in Kiniromaru's dream is quoted from William Shakespeare's "Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" 3.1.58. The lines Kiniromaru says at the end of the chapter are from Shakespeare's "The Tempest" epilogue.

**Author's Note: **O.O holy crap... the contents and events of this chapter took **ME** by surprise. I hope this was worth the wait - it took me a long time to actually write. Dude, I think my muse switched places with Naraku! Don't lynch me! For more information on the story henceforth, please see the Author's Afterword at the end of this chapter.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Fifteen: To Be or Not To Be**

"Damn, it's been a week now and she still won't talk to us," Miroku jabbed the ground with his staff in irritation. "She hasn't made a move against us, and Kagome hasn't seen any major changes in the Jewel shard."

"Patience, Monk," Sango said dryly. "After all, patience is a virtue."

"Boy, Miroku has no virtue at all, does he?" Shippo commented.

"Pardon me?" Miroku grunted as a vein popped out on his forehead and his eyebrows twitched.

Kagome snickered at the banter and pressed a warm, damp cloth to Kiniromaru's forehead. The demon had taken a turn for the worse overnight. She had refused to speak to anyone, even Shippo, who was trying his best to be as cute and cuddly and harmless as possible to try and cajole her into talking to them. She also refused any proffered food, preferring to forage for herself outside. Like her equine nature, she ate grass, but unlike a horse, she actually plucked the blades of grass and gathered a handful before eating it.

"Watch it, Mutt-face! Don't try that again, or I'll rip your throat out!"

"I'd like to see you try that, wolf-cub!"

Kagome sighed. Koga and Inuyasha still didn't get along, though they refrained from fighting too much in front of Kiniromaru. Right now they were carving up a giant boar that Ginta and Hakkaku had managed to capture and subdue until Koga delivered a killing blow. The boar would feed the wolf-demons, their wolf underlings, and the rest of the group for many days.

Kiniromaru flinched and pulled away. They had brought her out into the sunshine to see if it would help her feel better. Ginta and Hakkaku sat next to Kagome, thus fulfilling her promise to Inuyasha to not be around Kiniromaru without someone else nearby, someone who could anticipate and intercept the horse demon if she made a move. The two wolf-demons were currently gorging themselves on the boar's liver, happily sharing it between them.

"What's happening?" Hakkaku asked, pausing in his feasting. "She seems restless."

"I think it's the liver. She can probably smell it and it makes her sick," Ginta reasoned. "Maybe we should move away."

"Move away from Kagome," Koga snarled, "and I'll rip out YOUR livers! Stay where you are, morons!"

* * *

_It was warm and dark. It felt so safe._

_"Kiniroko..."_

_Mama?_

_Kiniromaru opened her dream-tinted eyes to find herself in a warm, misty forest... home..._

_A soft voice in the distance was chanting or reciting ..._**whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows...**

_"Kiniroko, why do you cry?" Mama's voice was insistent and cut through the chaos. "Do you still grieve for me?"_

_"Mama?" _**...to die... to sleep... no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache... **_"Am... am I... dead?"_** ...that flesh is heir to... **_"Is this what death is like?" _**...to die, to sleep... to sleep... perchance to dream... **

_"No, Kiniroko. This is merely a dream." _**...for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause...** _"Your soul called to me."_

_"You must make a choice, Kiniromaru," another voice said. That was Nijimaru. "Your soul is splitting in two because of its dual natures."_

**...for who would bear the whips and scorns of time...** _"You are half uma-youkai and half hogosha-youkai. Sadly, you cannot be both. One part of you yearns for oblivion, to join your herdmates in death. Without the herd, you are empty, with only your hatred and anger to sustain you. Revenge is hollow, Kiniromaru. When you have exacted it, what else is there? You will still be empty."_

_At last she saw them. Her mother, young and vivacious, clad in her traditional armor, which she'd worn the day the demon exterminators cut her down, stood as a silent reminder of a time of peace and comfort, lost to the threads of fate. Nijimaru, radiant in his spirit-horse form, towered over Mama, a symbol of sagacity and responsibility._

**...but that the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns...**

_Kiniromaru felt her heart constrict in anguish._

_Nijimaru paced forward to stand before her and lowered his great head. His rainbow eyes caught hers and he held her gaze firmly. "There is no shame in revenge, Kiniromaru, but there is no honor in it either. Exacting revenge will not revive me or your herdmates. In the end, you will lose that which sustains you."_

**...thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought...**_"What else is there?" _**...and with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action...**

_"My dear," Nijimaru said gently, "you are still my daughter. You have the blood of a hogosha-youkai in you. That part of you strives to live. It seeks find something sacred to protect, and to protect it. The Forest of Rainbows is beyond help now. Bokuseno and the other demon trees will protect themselves as they can; there is nothing more you can do for them. But you may still find your own place in the world._

_"Because of your dual-heritage, your soul seeks two ends. Your uma-youkai nature seeks death; your hogosha-youkai nature seeks to survive. You must decide now how to end it, before the decision is taken from you._

_"If you choose death -- a shameless choice, for your life ahead is fraught with pain and dangers -- you must remove the Shards in your heart and allow your body to wilt. And then you must be utterly destroyed. Your heart must be torn apart, or Naraku will resurrect you for his own purposes._

_"If you choose life, you must allow the young priestess to heal you. You will need to leave the Shards in your heart until the healing is completed. There is simply no other way. I cannot heal your wounds quickly enough to sustain your life; the Shards sustain your life while your body heals itself. But you must forgive humans and youkai alike for the destruction of your tribe and forest. You must find peace within yourself, or you will be consumed by your own rage. Your heart is weakened by the Shards and the poison, and your soul will become an easy victim. There is no other way, if you choose to live. You must forgive humans and try to protect them."_

_Kiniromaru put her face in her hands. "I'm not like you, Nijimaru. I'm not a decent person."_

_"You are a decent person, Kiniromaru, and I trust you to make what decisions you think are best. Should you choose death, I will welcome you into the afterlife, but if this is your choice, I ask that you pass along some information to the young priestess who has tended to you. If you seek death, at least grant them what answers we can give them._

_"Ahh," Nijimaru sighed. "I have run out of time."_

_Kiniromaru realized the mist was dissipating. "Wait! Where are you going?"_

_"Kiniromaru, please listen very carefully, for what I am about to tell you is very detailed."_

* * *

Sango frowned in contemplation as she pored over the texts she and Miroku had unearthed from her village's library. With the repairs on Hiraikotsu completed -- the giant boomerang presently sat on a rack, a coat of sealant curing on it -- she had thrown herself headfirst into researching the possible connections of Nijimaru. His name rang a bell but she couldn't recall anything about him. She was sure that if she'd heard his name before, that meant that someone in her village had encountered him or learned something of him, and that meant that the archives would say something. If there was a record of encounters with him, it might shed some light on why things turned out the way they did.

Because the archives were still somewhat private to Sango, she preferred to go through them alone. Miroku respected her space and spent a lot of time tending the graves, as well as taking care of menial tasks with Shippo and Kirara's help. Ginta and Hakkaku made themselves useful by hauling water and keeping the pantries stocked with foods. Koga and Inuyasha had come to an uneasy truce, at least as long as Kiniromaru was around. Once the horse demon was gone, they'd probably be back to their old ways faster than one could blink an eye.

Sango sighed in frustration as she shuffled the papers.

"Mreeew?" Kirara warbled from where she sat in Kagome's lap.

"Sango? Did you find anything?"

"No, not yet. There's so much here to dig through, and yet so much missing. This is such a nightmare to go through!"

"Mangy wolf! I oughta cut you in half for that!"

"You can't even keep up with me, Mutt-face!"

"Without those shards in your legs, neither can you!"

_So much for the "uneasy truce"..._ Sango shook her head in resignation as Kagome stifled a laugh. Sango shuffled the pages again as Kirara crawled into her lap, and started reading yet another one.

"_Hogosha youkai_ -- a youkai shapeshifter with guardian capabilities. Unlike a kitsune or tanuki, the hogosha youkai has few forms it can take. Generally there are two: a humanoid form, and a basic nature, or true, form. It is believed that the legendary Inu no Taisho is one of many types of hogosha taiyoukai, but this is unconfirmed.

"Hogosha youkai cannot be exterminated through traditional means. Hogosha taiyoukai are even more difficult to destroy; rumors state that only another taiyoukai can truly destroy one of the hogosha taiyoukai. Their powers are seated in their hearts, and only by tearing apart the heart can one destroy a hogosha taiyoukai or hogosha youkai.

"One of the more famous of this type of youkai is a horse hogosha taiyoukai who guards a distant demon forest, the Niji no Mori. The guardian's name is believed to be Rainbow Circle. He is many centuries old and is gifted with very strong shielding capabilities. He is also rumored to possess extraordinary healing powers, capable of regenerating damaged, diseased or destroyed vital organs. However, he is unsympathetic towards humans and it is said that no human who enters his forest ever leaves alive."

_Rainbow Circle... wait a minute! That's a literal translation of..._

"I found it!"

* * *

"'Regenerate damaged, diseased or destroyed vital organs'?" Miroku squinted at the page. "Interesting. Never heard of such a talent."

Kagome was just placing a damp rag on Kiniromaru's forehead when suddenly the horse demon's right hand darted up and seized her by the throat. Kagome barely had time to grunt out a surprised squawk before she found herself airborne.

Inuyasha spit out a shocked invective just as he looked up to see Kiniromaru lunge for Kagome's throat, then the horse demon threw Kagome back with a considerable amount of force. Kagome crashed into Inuyasha, who then crashed into Koga, sending all three of them sprawling into a heap. By the time they'd gotten untangled, Kiniromaru was on her feet, glaring at them. Her golden eyes are tinged with red, her aura slightly shaded the sickly red of madness.

Kagome noticed that the two shards in Kiniromaru's heart were turning black as the mare looked around. She eyed Hiraikotsu on its rack, then looked at the forge where Sango had used materials to repair her weapons. Her platinum hair drifted in the wind and her golden skin paled.

"This gods-forsaken place," she rasped, flexing her claws. "Of all the places in the world to bring me, you bring me here, the one place I never, ever wanted to come. Now I remember why I detest humans so. The taijiya killed Mama for her bones!" She turned her grief-stricken eyes on Sango. "Nijimaru couldn't save her, because the taijiya hacked her apart! She had never hurt a human without just cause -- the taijiya killed her because she was in the way and they thought her bones would make good weapons!"

Kiniromaru took a threatening step toward Sango -- and collapsed into a heap, sobbing and clutching her chest. Kagome noticed a pulse of blue power eminating from the shard in her heart that seemed larger.

"What a fine mess," Koga snorted, looking at Sango. "Mutt-face's brother killed her father, and your tribe killed her mother. And through all of this, more worthless humans caused the deaths of her packmates. I begin to see why she's so vengeful."

Inuyasha muttered gratuitous obscene language as he drew Tetsusaiga and pointed it directly at Kiniromaru. The horse demon looked at the point of the blade with something akin to relief.

She scrubbed a hand across her face; "Nijimaru spoke to me in a dream just a little while ago. He's figured out what it is you want to know. If you'll give me the chance to talk, to tell you what he wants you to know, then you can have your way with me, hanyou."

"Then start talking," Inuyasha growled. "Your unprovoked attack on Kagome sealed your grave."

Kiniromaru smirked. "We'll see about that." She paused and grabbed a handful of grass, chewing on it almost absently. "Nijimaru was a healer as well as a forest guardian. He was able to heal grave injuries and poisonings by taking the damage into himself. As a hogosha taiyoukai, his thresholds were almost limitless in the realm of mortality. The only taiyoukai to ever get the upperhand with him was Sesshomaru. Nijimaru never bothered with the Dog General. He knew better than to cross the path of the Dog General. He underestimated Sesshomaru, though, and that nearly cost him his life. Sesshomaru's poison was potent on Nijimaru because Nijimaru could heal just about anyone but himself.

"The healing you've witnessed coming from the Jewel fragment is not actually from the fragment itself. It's from a crystalization of Nijimaru's soul. You know that the Shikon no Tama is made up of souls. Therefore, by being implanted in his heart, it was able to add his soul to its own. Because the shard resided in his heart, in the very seat of his soul and his power, it became parasitic and attatched itself to him. In time it began to consume him, crystalizing his soul and his powers in a layer around the shard itself. In his efforts to shield and immobilize the shard, he inadvertantly gave it free rein, and it seized control of him, draining his powers drastically. He began to feel the subtle influences of Naraku and felt the shard in his heart start to control him. He knew that the only way for him to stop the shard from consuming him entirely and putting him at the mercy of Naraku was to be killed... and because of how old he was, Nijimaru believed the only one who could kill him was Sesshomaru.

"Sesshomaru is a taiyoukai, and understands that to kill a taiyoukai, you must destroy the source of power, the seat of the soul. Sesshomaru would know to shred Nijimaru's heart in order to defeat him."

Kiniromaru paused, plucking more grass and chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Nijimaru couldn't manipulate situations, but he could take advantage of opportunities as they arose. When he saw Sesshomaru go into a killing rage, he decided that that was his chance to finally be freed of the prison the shard had made of his own body. But because I was caught in the middle of it, it made things difficult. You see, when Nijimaru saw that I was fatally wounded -- but not killed -- by Sesshomaru, his final thoughts were of me. He was my father, after all, even if I never referred to him as such, and his dying wish was for me to live. The shard took him at his word. When it was expelled from his heart as he died, it willed itself into Kagura's hands, and thus into _my_ heart."

Kiniromaru laid back in the grass and pressed her hands to her eyes. "I didn't ask to be saved. I didn't want to be saved. But I didn't have a say in it. Once the shards were implanted, Nijimaru's healing powers that had crystalized with the one were awakened. Thus, what remains of his soul, encased by the fragment, has spent the time since it was implanted trying to save me, because that was Nijimaru's final thought before he expired."

She sat up, wincing. "I'm not so different from you, hanyou," she said softly. "I have two natures. I am half uma-youkai, and half hogosha youkai. The two are uneasy allies at best. Uma-youkai despise hogosha youkai for their solitary lives and their mystique. Part of me strives to join my herd in death. That is the uma-youkai in me. But part of me strives to live, to carry on. That is the hogosha youkai in me. But they can no longer coexist in me. I have to make a choice, Nijimaru said. Either to live or to die. If I live, I must give up my revenge. Which I can't be sure I could do. If I cannot forgive humans and youkai alike, eventually my hatred will consume me."

"Why don't you join us?" Kagome offered. Inuyasha and Koga both stared at her, and Miroku froze completely. "Seek your revenge against Naraku, for trying to use you. We could use your strength."

"She has a point," Sango said gently. "Please let me make amends somehow for what my people did to your mother. Join us in fighting Naraku. We can heal you and make you as good as new. Kagome has the most wonderful medicines."

Kiniromaru stared at both women incredulously. "_Idiot!_ You don't get it, do you? I don't give a damn about this Naraku. Revenge is empty, pointless. Once Naraku has been destroyed, what else is there for me, if I make that my life's goal? Once revenge has been exacted, then what?"

The air grew uncomfortably still as each person thought on that topic.

"I have no hatred for Naraku," Kiniromaru said calmly. "If I were in his place, I'd probably do the same thing with someone like me. I'm not a good person, you know. However, I want nothing to do with him either. His battles are his own concerns, and I will not be coerced to fight someone else's fights for them." The horse demon stood up slowly. "I am what I am. I am no more than that. I'm not what Nijimaru wanted me to be. I'm not what Mama wanted me to be. I'm not even what I wanted to be. But I am who I am and what I am."

"You're half-hogosha," Kagome reasoned. "Join forces with us, help us destroy Naraku, and you'll become what you were born to be, won't you?"

"Born to be?" Kiniromaru spat savagely. "I've already done what I was born to be. I'm uma-youkai. I'm not hogosha youkai. I don't have Nijimaru's iron constitution. I don't even have Mama's unshakeable calm."

The horse demon looked up at the sky. "Rainbow Circle, they call you. I'm not like you, Nijimaru. I'm not a good person. And I'm not a guardian. I'm a horse demon. That's all I am. I'm not strong like you. I can't forget the hatred I feel for humans, and I'm not strong enough to endure alone."

She flexed the claws on her right hand. "_I choose death_," she choked out as, with a quick darting jab, she stabbed herself in the heart with two of her claws. She slumped to her knees as she felt around inside the muscle tissues until she'd located the two shards, and with a tearing jerk, wrenched them out.

"You gave me the choice, Nijimaru. To be, or not to be. I choose _not to be_." She dropped the shards in the grass and pressed a hand over her bleeding chest. "Inuyasha," she said softly, staying his name to his face for the first time. "If you have a shred of decency or humanity, you will destroy me. You will see to it that nothing survives but ashes. I don't want to be used by Naraku again."

Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga in response. "No arguments here."

"Stop!" Kagome said frantically. "Kiniromaru, you can't mean that you want to die! That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"What, just because you humans are too stubborn to die, I have to be the same? _I'm not human, you idiot!_ A horse that is crippled cannot survive. Dogs and wolves can get along without a leg. You saw yourself -- Sesshomaru is unhindered by the loss of his left arm, even when transformed into his spirit-dog form. But a three-legged horse would not survive. What do you do when a horse shatters a leg beyond repair? You kill it out of mercy. Horses are fragile creatures. My nature is that of a horse."

"Inuyasha, if you raise that sword any higher, I'll yell _the word_!" Kagome shouted at Inuyasha. "I'll yell it until your back breaks!"

Kiniromaru dug her claws into the ground and hurled a clod of dirt at Kagome. "Stay out of this, you stupid human!"

"I told you all," Inuyasha growled, "that if it came to it that she needed to be put down, that I would do it. We've learned what we needed to, and she's asking me to put her out of her misery. Don't try and mess things up!"

Miroku put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "He's right, Kagome. Kiniromaru isn't human. She's suffering, can't you see that? And Naraku won't leave her alone. Not if he can so easily sway that hatred to his favor."

"Destroy me," Kiniromaru said with a shuddering sob, "and release me from this shell of a body, so that I can finally be at peace. I want to go with Mama and Nijimaru..."

"Everyone stand back," Inuyasha ordered as he raised Tetsusaiga again, glaring pointedly at Kagome. Miroku dutifully put his hands over Kagome's mouth to prevent her from Sitting him into the underworld.

"Forgive me," Kiniromaru murmured, her face contorted in pain, "I tried... but I can't prevent it any longer... the hogosha youkai in me strives to live. Please, use whatever technique you have to thoroughly annihilate me..."

"What?"

She no longer crouched there. Instead, her spirit-horse form loomed menacingly over them. The force of the _youki_ winds spiraled around her.

_Forgive me. I did not wish this to happen... Please, set me free..._

"Inuyasha! Use the Backlash Wave on her!" Sango yelled. "Even I can feel her demonic winds!"

"The Wind Scar alone won't tear her to pieces like she wants," Miroku added. "Sango's right, use the Backlash Wave, if you can!"

"I'm way ahead of you guys!" Inuyasha launched at the golden mare as she spat a shower of ice at him, throwing all of her demonic power into the attack. With a heave of Tetsusaiga, he unleashed the Backlash Wave at her, using the Wind Scar to seize Kiniromaru's aura and attack and turn it against her. The mare didn't scream as the whirlpools of energy began to tear her flesh apart. Instead, she seemed relieved.

As the Backlash Wave dissipated, a single, long platinum strand of hair settled on Inuyasha's haori. It was all that was physically left of Kiniromaru.

A soft breeze wandered through the silent village, as the ghostly voice of the departed horse demon sang out, as if in relief

**Now my charms are all o'erthrown,  
And what strength I have's mine own,  
Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,  
I must be here confined by you...  
As you from crimes would pardon'd be,  
Let your indulgence set me free.**

Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga and looked skyward. "Be at peace, Kiniromaru. You didn't deserve what all you had to go through."

* * *

**Author's Afterword**: If you're wondering why Kiniromaru had to die: she was never intended to be more than a fleeting character. She developed into too much of a main character, and this story isn't really about her. Because she had led such a harsh life, in the end I decided that death was the only release she could accept.

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	16. Part Sixteen: Misunderstandings

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**Author's Note: **This chapter was extremely difficult to get started, and I don't really know why. I brooded and brainstormed for a very long time, and with the help of my impromptu "beta" DarklessVasion (wink), I was able to get this chapter started. Of course, then it started throwing tantrums and didn't WANT to get written, so I had to take it out back and reason with it, then spank it a few times, before it behaved itself. The chapter came out much shorter than I wanted it to, because there are things I wanted to cover in it, but I couldn't get them to come out properly, and I wanted to post an update... thus, the short chapter. ANYWAY, a big thanks to DarklessVasion for all the ideas. This chapter took a lot of work, so I hope it was worth the wait!

**Disclaimer**: The incident that Sango mentions, of Kagura stealing the shard Miroku was carrying, is pure artistic license. It never happened in the manga or in the TV series. Nor did the incident where Inuyasha went "haring off after Kikyo," which set up for Miroku being robbed of his shard. Miroku apparently never gave to Kagome the shards he'd collected before he joined the group, but he has to lose them at some point, because pretty soon in the timeline Naraku ends up with nearly all the shards. This now takes place just before the Shichinintai arc begins, and after that arc is done there are only a few shards left to be added to the Jewel to make it whole, most of which are accounted for.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Sixteen: Misunderstandings**

The tension in the air was almost visible, it was so thick. For close to a week, Inuyasha had been quiet and withdrawn, a tad stand-offish and distant. Ever since they'd left the exterminator village, he had seemed deeply troubled and saddened. His behavior following the death of Kiniromaru had been out of character to say the least, and rather disturbing.

Immediately after Kiniromaru's demise, he had picked up the two Shikon shards and had handed one of them to Kagome. The other he had held onto himself, refusing to let anyone even see it. Kagome had later confirmed that the shard he held onto was the enhanced one -- the one that had crystallized portions of Nijimaru's soul around itself. He had collected together any strands of the uma-youkai hairs that had been left behind by the Backlash Wave and had wrapped them around the enhanced shard, tucking both the shard and the hairs into a hastily-assembled pouch of horse-hide. He kept the pouch sequestered away inside his clothing, snapping angrily at anyone who inquired about it. His temper was unusually short, especially since they knew it had nothing to do with the moon cycle.

And now he was quite deliberately avoiding Kagome. As they all sat around the fire at night, admiring the spectacular view of the full moon framed by a pair of mountain peaks, Inuyasha sat deliberately across the fire from Kagome, refusing to meet her eyes when she spoke to him.

Miroku, who was seated next to the moody hanyou, finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "Inuyasha, why don't you tell us what's wrong?"

"Wrong? What makes you think something's wrong? Nothing's wrong."

Shippo hopped up onto the monk's shoulder and peered at the hanyou. "I know what's going on here."

"Huh?" Inuyasha about choked on his dinner. "What?"

The kitsune child leaned forward, bracing himself by putting his tiny hands on Inuyasha's shoulder, and looked him squarely in the eye. Bright teal youkai eye met deep golden hanyou eye in equal suspicion, as the two shared a "..." moment between them before Inuyasha finally grew impatient. "Well?"

"You're hiding something."

Inuyasha sputtered. "I am not!"

Shippo looked triumphant as he hopped up onto Inuyasha's head, grabbing his ears for balance when the _hanyou_ tried to duck.

"Get off me, runt!"

"You are too hiding something! You've been all quiet and mopey ever since -- "

"Keh! I don't mope, you little baka!" Inuyasha grabbed Shippo by the tail and hurled the kitsune over the campfire. Sango obligingly caught the cub as he careened through the air, setting the little fox down next to herself and Kagome.

"He's right, though," Miroku said. "You haven't been yourself lately. You've been far too quiet."

"Humph." The hanyou folded his arms into his voluminous sleeves, feigning boredom as he looked away. "You're imagining things." His ears betrayed his bored expression by twitching.

"I've seen it too, Inuyasha," Sango replied. "We all have. You don't talk to us much anymore, you frequently seem lost in thought... and it's not like we've learned anything new about Naraku's whereabouts or about the nature of the Shikon shards. Ever since we left my village, you've been... well... weird."

Inuyasha's ears twitched again. "I tell you, you're just imagining things. There's nothing wrong with me. Besides, I'm entitled to take some time to think once in a while. I'm trying to get a bead on Naraku, you know. I'm the only one of use who can track him, and now we've got both Koga _and_ Sesshomaru tracking Naraku, and if we don't find him first, they're going to get the jump on us. And I won't let either that skinny wolf or that asshole brother of mine take out that bastard Naraku -- he's _my_ prey before either one of them. And if you people don't stop bugging me, I'll never be able to concentrate long enough to find him!"

"Then answer me this," Miroku said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why won't you hand that one fragment over to Kagome? Why do you insist on keeping it? You've never been so adamant before."

"Huh?"

"That shard that originally came from Nijimaru -- you won't even let Kagome purify it. Why does that particular shard matter so much to you?"

"Fuck off, monk. It ain't none of your business what I do with it. I did all the hard work to get it, and I'm going to keep it, thank you!" Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "You went and _lost_ yours, so don't come panting after mine!"

"That's not fair, Inuyasha!" Sango interrupted. "It wasn't his fault that Kagura stole his shard! We could blame you for being an idiot -- after all, you took the bait and went haring off after Kikyo -- but the fact of the matter is that Kagura caught us off guard. Besides, that was almost a month ago!"

"Whatever. I'll hang onto this shard all the same. As long as the Jewel isn't whole, we have a chance to beat Naraku. If I have to hang onto one shard in order to keep the Jewel from being whole, so be it. If you don't like that, just try to take it from me!"

"Why that particular one?" Miroku pressed.

"What the hell is this, Twenty Questions? Who cares why this one as opposed to others?"

"Do you regret killing Kiniromaru?" Sango asked softly.

"Where the hell did that come from? Leave that horse demon out of this! She's got nothing to do with anything! She's dead anyway, so forget about her!"

"I bet you _do_ regret killing her," Sango replied, "and that's why you want her shard. A memento."

Inuyasha's eyebrows twitched in annoyance. "Listen, you're all starting to piss me off. Let's just get one thing straight here: I did what I had to. Kiniromaru was suffering and wanted to die. She had to die or she'd never find peace, and she asked me to help her. I regret nothing. Now drop the damned subject."

"I bet you were falling in love with her," Shippo commented. "That's why you want to keep her shard."

The hanyou's jaw unhinged in complete disbelief. He sputtered in outrage and lurched to his feet. "What the fuck -- I can't believe -- YOU LITTLE BASTARD! That's the most ridic -- I'm gonna kick your -- "

"**SIT!**" Kagome barked as Inuyasha lunged at Shippo, claws at the ready. The incantation sent him face first into the dirt, just missing the campfire itself by less than a foot.

"I want to know why you've been avoiding me," she demanded once he had stopped twitching.

Inuyasha spat out a mouthful of road dirt and ashes. "Keh! I ain't avoiding anyone. You're delusional."

"**SIT!**"

"Oomph!"

"You won't look me in the eye, you stand away from me, you don't even offer to carry me anymore... what is it? Did you go see Kikyo again?"

"Kikyo?" Inuyasha looked incredulous. "Not that it's any of your business -- "

"**SIT! SIT! SIT!**"

"Ack! Oof! Aargh! Dammit, woman -- !"

"_**SIT-SIT-SIT-SIT-SIT-SIT-SIT-SIT!**_"

Miroku lunged across the campfire (just barely avoiding catching his robes on fire) and clapped his hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt to stop her from Sitting Inuyasha any more times. "Stop, please, Kagome! Let him speak!"

"Fuck this," Inuyasha snarled from the indentation in the ground he'd made with all the Sit commands. "I ain't taking any more of this shit tonight!" With a surprising display of agility -- considering he'd just received a baker's-dozen Sit commands in a very short period and in rapid succession -- the hanyou leaped up into the trees and bounded out of sight in a few heartbeats.

Miroku released Kagome and sighed. "Honestly, Kagome, that was a bit excessive."

"It's no more than he deserved, the three-timing hound," Shippo proclaimed. "He can't choose between Kikyo and Kagome, and so he throws another one into the equation?"

"I think you're wrong," Sango replied. "I don't think Inuyasha had any romantic feelings for Kiniromaru."

Kagome buried her face in her hands; "What I wouldn't give to just hate him!"

Miroku stood up, dusting off the dirt and ashes from his violet robes. "Kirara, may I borrow your services?"

The firecat mewed in reply and scrambled out of Sango's lap. She transformed into her large form the moment she touched the ground.

"You're going to follow him?" Sango asked.

"I think I'd better go talk to him. In his current state, he could do something really stupid. Besides, I want to see if I can get him to tell me what's going on."

"You think you can?"

"Well, I don't know. Kagome is usually the one who can get information out of him, but at present I know he won't talk to her. It can't hurt for me to try."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	17. Part Seventeen: Heavy Burden

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**Author's Note: **Again, a huge thanks to DarklessVasion for helping me past a writers' block involving Miroku. I was unsure how to keep him in character and yet still have him do what I wanted. He's a complex character that I wanted to explore, but realized I didn't know very much about.

**Disclaimer**: Obviously I don't know the menstrual cycles of our two leading ladies, I just chose to take a little bit of artistic license for the sake of the story.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Seventeen: Heavy Burden**

Kirara didn't have any trouble finding Inuyasha. If anyone had a nose as good as Inuyasha, it was the firecat. The_ hanyou _was seated on a high bough of a tall, sturdy tree. The twitching of an ear alerted Miroku that the hanyou was aware of their approach

"What the hell do you want, monk?" Inuyasha snarled without preamble as Kirara landed at the base of the tree in which he was sitting. Miroku slid off the firecat's back, and Kirara transformed back into her tiny kitten form. She was exhausted, and her small form required much less energy and power to maintain.

"Would you mind coming down from there? I think we need to talk."

"Keh! I don't need to talk with anyone."

"Ah, but I think you do, Inuyasha. Now, would you please come down from there? I'd rather not shout up at you."

"And I say that I don't need to talk to anyone, dammit! Leave me alone!"

Miroku pondered his options, and finally decided he had no choice. "Very well then. I'll just have to wait you out."

"You'll have a helluva long wait, idiot."

Miroku smirked and said to himself, "We'll see about that." He walked over to the tree and sat down, leaning against the trunk and looking up at the shadows cast by the moody hanyoubrooding in the boughs. He smiled at Kirara and patted his lap invitingly. "Come, Kirara. I could use a nice conversation."

He heard a distant "Keh!" but ignored it as Kirara hopped into his lap and made herself comfortable. His hands fell to scratching her black ears. She purred softly and snuggled into his caresses.

"Beautiful evening, isn't it, Kirara?" The firecat mewed in response. "The full moon is very lovely. Such a spectacular view from the campsite."

Kirara purred a little louder as he scratched under her chin.

"The weather's been very nice lately too." Purrrrr. "Dinner was good, wasn't it?" Purrrrrrrrr.

Miroku ran a hand gently across the firecat's back, smoothing down her fur. "You've had a long day, haven't you, Kirara?" The firecat mewed a sleepy response. "Carrying three adults and a kitsune cub for long distances, all while trying to keep up with Inuyasha, must be exhausting. Too bad Inuyasha doesn't understand the meaning of moderation. And plus, he wouldn't carry Kagome today. So that left you, poor thing."

Kirara's purrs became fainter as she started to fall asleep. She had indeed had a long, hard day. With Inuyasha avoiding Kagome, it left Kirara to carry all three humans. Inuyasha had caught a stray whiff of the saimyosho bugs and had taken off at a ground-eating lope, forcing everyone to pile onto Kirara just to keep up. It had been a long journey, and by the time Inuyasha gave up the trail when it ended in a complete dead-end (the scent literally disappeared), Kirara had been so tired she could barely keep her larger form.

And then a swarm of low-class forest demons -- similar to the demons Naraku tended to throw at them, but Inuyasha insisted these didn't smell anything like Naraku and therefore couldn't be affiliated with him -- had started attacking. Miroku had used a large portion of his available sutra and scrolls in the fight because they had been in such close quarters that Sango had been unable to properly utilize Hiraikotsu. She was very skilled using the giant boomerang, but not when she was literally wedged between two other adults while astride an airborne Kirara in tight quarters.

"You're such a good partner, Kirara," Miroku said sincerely. "We don't thank you nearly enough for all you do for us. Honestly, I don't know what we'd do without you." He paused in his petting, thinking.

Kirara cocked open one red eye and looked up at him. Her amused gaze said what her lack of vocal speech prohibited her from voicing: _Keep with the petting, monk. The praise is nice too, but keep up the petting. I _am_ a cat, after all._

Miroku chuckled and resumed stroking her fur. "Unlike some of us, you take commands without question and obey them. You don't charge headfirst into battle and create more havoc. You're probably the most reliable fighter of all of us, even Sango, and that says a lot, you know." Kirara's purr seemed to echo with feline laughter. "I know at least one of our number who could learn a lot from you."

There was a rustle in the branches overhead, a flash of red and silver, and then an audible -- but not _loud_ -- thump in the leaf-litter before him. A stray moonbeam illuminated the argent hair as the irritable inu-hanyou crouched before the monk. "All right, monk, you made your point. The mindless chatter is annoying."

"Mindless? I was merely praising Kirara."

"Whatever. You want to talk? Fine, talk; but enough with this talking about me like I can't hear you."

"Fair enough. Now, tell me something, and be honest. No playing dumb. Why are you avoiding Kagome? You _are_ avoiding her, it's very obvious. You know it, I know it, Kagome knows it -- everyone knows it! -- so don't deny it. Explain yourself. What's going on?"

"Damn, you're direct!"

"Answer me, Inuyasha," Miroku said forcibly, abandoning all laid-back pretenses. He had to get some answers out of the hanyou. "We cannot afford the discord and tension that is between us right now. We are dealing with a very deadly, vindictive and manipulative demon; we have to be able to trust each other absolutely. You _know _that, probably better than anyone. So tell me what is going on. Kagome is getting the wrong idea."

Inuyasha looked away, and for a moment it looked like he was tensing up his muscles to leap into the trees and abandon the conversation. Miroku readied himself to strike, to try and pin him if he tried to get away.

"Kagome smells different lately," Inuyasha said finally.

"Smells different?"

"That's what I said."

"Different in what way?"

Inuyasha turned and faced Miroku, and the intensity in his citrine eyes was unnerving. "You're human, Miroku. That means you're nose-dead. You can't smell the changes in Kagome. That one fact alone is all that's keeping me from ripping out your throat right now."

For the first time in a very long time, Miroku was so taken aback that he had no response but to unhinge his jaw and gape stupidly at Inuyasha. He flexed his jaw a couple of times, illiciting a disgusted sneer from the hanyou, while he worked his mind around what had just been said. "What do you mean? I don't understand what you're saying. How can Kagome smelling different make you want to kill _me_?"

"That's just it," Inuyasha looked away again. "I don't understand it either. I just know that because of how she smells, I feel very uncomfortable, and any male that's near her, I feel urge to kill."

"How long has she smelled this way?"

"This time? Oh, about two days or so now."

"What do you mean, _this time_?"

"It happens every month. Right around the full moon or so. Her scent starts to change about three days before the full moon."

_Her scent changes monthly..._ Miroku was beginning to understand what the problem was, but needed more information to verify it. "What happens after the full moon?"

Inuyasha's cheeks flushed slightly and his left ear twitched like crazy. "Well, usually, she then starts to smell like blood, for a couple of days. She says it's nothing to worry about, that it's common for human females, and that her body is just getting rid of excess blood, that I shouldn't be worried about it. The blood smells different though. But in any case, afterwards, she's back to her usual scent."

_Bingo. That's what I thought._ "Well, if it's something that all human females go through, that means Sango does too, right?"

"Yeah. But not right now. Hers is usually the week before the new moon, but it varies more." Inuyasha's ears twitched again. "So what?"

"When this happens to Sango, do you feel the same way as you do right now?"

"Of course not."

"So, the last two days Kagome has started to smell differently. So what? What does that matter to you?"

Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "Dumbass. I told you: it makes me uncomfortable and aggressive."

"Her scent makes you aggressive?"

"Well, yeah. I want to kill any male that comes near her."

"Including me."

"You're a male, Miroku, and if I thought you could smell the change in her, I'd probably be ripping your throat out. But I don't understand why I have this urge. It's... it's not like the demon side of me. It doesn't delight in the prospect. It's like it's some sort of necessary thing."

_Sweet Buddha. How do I explain this to him? He won't admit his feelings for Kagome, but this confirms it as well as if he were to stand up and proclaim it at the top of his lungs. She's gone into her 'heat' cycle and he's aggressively protective of her because deep down he views her as his mate. It's instinctual._

_And here Kagome thought he was avoiding her because he'd been seeing Kikyo!_

"Let me reassure you now," Miroku said slowly, trying to buy time while he got his thoughts in order. "I won't lay a hand on Kagome in earnest. I can't promise I won't, er, touch her in jest or whatever. But I will never lay so much as a finger on her, unsolicited."

The word 'unsolicited' was clearly confusing the _hanyou_. "I mean that I won't touch her unless she asks me to."

_Oh shit. Wrong thing to say!_

"Why would she ask you to?" Inuyasha growled.

"Nevermind. Forget it. It was a slip of the tongue."

"Humph."

"There's still another matter we need to discuss."

"Eh? Now what?"

"Kiniromaru."

"What about her? Shit, not you too, Miroku! I have no love for that damned horse demon! I felt sorry for her, but that's all."

"Then why do you insist on keeping that one shard with you? You won't even let Kagome purify it, and that's very much unlike you. Why does that shard mean so much to you? And don't give me that 'I'm trying to keep it safe' routine. You _know_ that the only person who can safely handle the Shikon no Tama is Kagome. Why do you want that shard so much?"

Inuyasha looked away again. He was silent a long time, but made no motion like he wanted to escape. His ears remained relatively still, twitching only occassionally to indicate that he was thinking.

"It's to remind me. Of how evil the Shikon no Tama is."

"Do you really need to carry a tainted shard for that purpose?"

Inuyasha looked up squarely into Miroku's eyes, and again his citrine eyes were disturbingly intense. "You don't get it. Until now I've always believed that I could use the Jewel to become a full demon -- a sane one -- like Sesshomaru. That I could become a taiyoukai like my father, and take my place in the scheme of the world. I considered it to be mere coincidence that every demon we've encountered who had a shard was evil."

_Except for Koga_, Miroku thought, but held his tongue. Mentioning the wolf-demon would only make Inuyasha angry. "So what changed that?"

"When we first met Kiniromaru, she was a strong, proud demon who knew her duties and her place in society. She had no real ambitions because she had reached most of her goals in life. She didn't desire more power. She desired a peaceful existence for her tribe. She never actually _told_ me any of this out loud, but I could tell by the way she carried herself, the way she moved, the way she spoke. She was a calm, dignified, confident demon. And being devoted to Nijimaru, she had only distaste for the Shikon no Tama, despite trying to fool us into thinking she had one.

"You saw what she looked like the next time we met her. She was _not_ the same creature. She had been stripped of her pride and dignity. Her tribe was dead, she was physically about three-quarters dead herself, and only her rage and hatred kept her moving. Her peaceful existence was gone. She lived only to destroy the one she blamed for her predicament.

"You remember how she reacted, don't you, when she found out that she was alive because of those shards? She was devastated. She didn't want to live anyway, and she learned that she was only alive because of the very thing Nijimaru had schooled her to despise.

"I can't explain to you how hard it was for me to see such a proud, dignified demon reduced to what she had become. I think it's probably worse than what Naraku's done with Sango's brother. Kohaku is likely driven by a desire to live. Kiniromaru wanted only to die, to be released from what she'd become.

"And all of this, just because of two little pieces of the Shikon no Tama. Kiniromaru's entire life and reason for living was completely corrupted by those shards. Naraku didn't do a damned thing to them, because one of them never even encountered him. It was the evil of the shards themselves that ruined Kiniromaru and turned her into what she became."

Inuyasha paused, as if his thoughts had suddenly escaped him, but after a moment of contemplation, he continued.

"Until I saw what she became, I thought that the Shikon no Tama could be used harmlessly to make me what I always wanted to be. I thought that there was nothing wrong with what I wished. But now I'm beginning to see. Nijimaru wanted Kiniromaru to live. So live she did, even though she didn't want to. She was forced to enduring a living hell because Nijimaru had wished on the shard for her to live. A completely selfless wish -- a father wishing for his daughter to survive -- was entirely corrupted and made her suffer for nearly a month and a half. So now I'm realizing that no matter how innocent the wish is, the Jewel will distort it and make it be the worst thing you could have imagined."

Miroku blinked slowly, nodding his head in acknowledgement. "You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you? I'm impressed at the depth of your observations. You're right, the Jewel will corrupt any wish. Remember that it's made up of souls that are battling for supremacy, and only one of those souls is considered good. Its very creation was violent and deadly in nature. Nothing good can come from using it."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to see that now."

"But I don't understand why you insist on holding onto a tainted shard of it."

"To remind me of why I don't want to use the Jewel once it's whole. Kiniromaru's tragedy opened my eyes to just how evil the Jewel is."

"But you're holding onto a _tainted_ -- an unpurified -- shard, Inuyasha. I really think you should give the shard to Kagome; let her purify it."

"No. This burden is mine to bear, not anyone else's."

"Inuyasha," Miroku said seriously, "you _know_ that Kagome is the only person who can safely handle the shards. A tainted shard is very dangerous."

"Keh," the hanyou spat. "Nothing doing. I can handle it. It's not like I'm tempted to use it or anything."

"Hear me out: you know that the shards draw youkai to them, and the more tainted a shard is, the stronger its pull is. If it remains unpurified, its taint will grow slowly, and it'll attract more and more youkai to it."

"So? What's your point?"

"My point is, if you continue to hang onto a tainted shard, we will be encountering more and more youkai as we travel. By keeping the shard unpurified, you will likely put all of us in danger sooner or later. Do you really think that this 'reminder' is worth that price?"

Inuyasha looked away, his features becoming harded with anger and frustration. "Fuck this. Why don't I just destroy the damned thing? Then the Jewel will never be whole!"

Before Miroku could get a word in edgewise, Inuyasha pulled the pouch from his clothing, dumped the shard into his hand, and placed it on a nearby rock. Then he drew Tetsusaiga, raised the blade and swung it straight down on the rock with all the force of his frustration. Miroku just barely managed to put an arm up to shield his face from the flying rock debris as the rock exploded under Tetsusaiga's power.

As Miroku lowered his arm and looked, Inuyasha poked with the tip of Tetsusaiga at the rubble that remained of the rock.

"Aw, fuck! It didn't work!"

The shard was still intact. In addition to that, it was glowing slightly from where it lay in a pile of rock-dust. The glow intensified as Inuyasha reached for the shard, and the light repulsed his hand.

"What the hell!"

"Sweet Buddha, Inuyasha, what have you done!"

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**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	18. Part Eighteen: Rainbow Circle

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**Author's Note: **Nijimaru's speech is italicized to indicate that he is otherworldly now.

**Disclaimer**This is probably going to seem like a rather lame chapter, because of all the build-up in the previous chapters, but I'm not copping out - for the most part, this is how I wanted this chapter to play out. The whole arc with Nijimaru and Kiniromaru has to serve a purpose in the Inu-tachi's quest, or else it's a pointless side-venture involving the main characters when they had no business being there. However, I can't screw around too much with canon. Thus, I have to try and reinvent the wheel without taking away from its patents. In other words, I'm trying to analyze what is not mentioned in the canon, but what can conceivably be interpreted that way.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Eighteen: Rainbow Circle**

The light from the fragment flared and brightened. The light was iridescent, but Miroku was more concerned about this abnormal behavior. If he didn't know better, he'd think the shard was fighting with itself! He grabbed his staff and whacked Inuyasha upside the head; "You imbecile! What the hell have you done!"

"How the hell should _I_ know!"

"God, Inuyasha, sometimes I think I ought to pound your skull in, you do such stupid things!"

"Fuck that! Get down!"

The shard exploded. Inuyasha sensed the explosion a split-second before it happened -- the air suddenly became very, very hot and charged with static, and his sixth sense screamed "_DANGER!_" -- and dived in front of the monk, covering both of their heads with the sleeves of his fire-rat haori.

The violence of the explosion took out a section of the tree's trunk about three feet thick. Miroku had only a few seconds to gape in disbelief at the straightness of the cut, before the tree began to topple.

"_SHIT!_" Inuyasha seized Miroku by the arm and hauled him up off the ground, away from the tree. Miroku managed to grab and hang on to Kirara, who squawked in alarm.

The tree was a very old one, and thus was extremely tall. Being tall and top-heavy, losing a portion of its lower trunk put into motion a domino-effect. The tree wobbled in the canopy, then began to plunge towards the ground, crashing into its neighboring trees, and sending the smaller, weaker ones, down in its wake. The forest roared with the sound of falling trees.

Inuyasha pinned Miroku against another large tree, determined to protect his friend from the fallout. However, there came no attack on the heels of the sudden blast and the falling trees. Once the trees had finished their ruckus, the forest fell silent again. Very silent now, because the little forest creatures had scattered.

_"So much for a quiet talk,"_ a disembodied voice said amusedly. _"I suppose that such violence is to be expected, with the Shikon no Tama. It was quite a struggle, I can guarantee you that."_

"Who's speaking?" Miroku pushed Inuyasha away, covertly assessing the hanyou's bodily damage. The blast from the shard had torn criss-crossing slashes into the fabric of the haori, and blood seeped out where it had scored flesh. But the two of them were for the most part unharmed. These injuries Inuyasha had sustained would heal by high noon at the latest, and by sunrise at the most likely.

A translucent human-like figure bathed in an incandescent, otherworldly light stood before them. The voice that spoke was masculine, so it could be assumed, if this was the source, that this creature was male. He was hard to make out, because his features seemed to swim in and out of focus, as if a cloud of mist were roiling around him, randomly obscuring and revealing his features.

"Who are you?" Miroku narrowed his eyes, trying to glimpse the creature's face clearly. There was something familiar about that voice.

_"I suppose you wouldn't remember me,"_ the figure said, his voice tinged with regret. _"We met only briefly. I am the one called Nijimaru. Well, actually, I am all that remains of Nijimaru."_

Inuyasha put a hand to Tetsusaiga's hilt, but the sword pulsed at him, sending uncomfortable waves through his fingers. Tetsusaiga did not wish to be drawn.

"If you're Nijimaru, what are you doing here? You're dead, aren't you? Aren't you supposed to be in the world beyond?"

_"I could not pass the borderlands because I was not complete. The reason you see me, the reason I am here, is simple. You know about the fragment of the Shikon jewel that I had embedded in my heart."_ It was a statement, not a question. _"You know that it began to crystallize my soul around itself."_

"Your soul was trying to heal Kiniromaru, right?" Miroku mentally grabbed wildly at a fleeting thought. Perhaps Nijimaru had been -

_"To some degree, yes. It had leeched my healing abilities, and was attempting to heed my selfish wish for her to survive. But more than that, before the shard ever left me, it began imprisoning me in itself. It was trying to absorb my own soul into itself. Made up as it is of youkai souls, it wanted mine as well, and because it happened to be lodged right in the core of my power and soul, it had no trouble._

_"In short, part of me was imprisoned by the shard, even after Sesshomaru released me by tearing my heart out and releasing the shard. And try though I did, I could not break free, not even with the fragment being implanted in Kiniromaru's heart as well."_

For a moment, the spiritual remains of the demon lord seemed to fade from existence, but then it returned.

"So, what now?"

_"I am indebted to you, Inuyasha. I have no way of repaying you for all you have done for me, a debt that saddens me. Without you, I fear that Kiniromaru might not have been saved. She likely would have been devoured by her rage and by the evil of the Shikon no Tama. And I would have been powerless to help her. Indeed, you have saved not only Kiniromaru, but myself. I can only apologize profusely for dragging you and your companions into what was ultimately my own business."_ The spirit seemed very regretful.

"How did Inuyasha save you as well?" Miroku inquired. "I don't understand that. Was it intentional or accidental?"

Nijimaru chuckled;_ "I suppose it could be argued both ways. But I imagine it was accidental. What freed me from the shard was the force of your sword, Inuyasha. By striking the fragment with the Tetsusaiga - which was initially forged of the fang of one of the greatest taiyoukai to have ever lived - the force of the blade's youkai powers caused the fragment to lose its hold on me. Thus, the crystallized remains of my soul were released."_

"So that blast -- "

_" -- was me breaking away from the fragment," _Nijimaru confirmed. _ "I'm sorry that it was so violent, but it was the only way I could escape."_

"Tell me something, Nijimaru," Inuyasha said after a moment. "How did you come across that shard in the first place? Kiniromaru said that you always hated the Shikon no Tama, so how did you end up with a piece of it embedded within you?"

_"That,"_ Nijimaru gave a dry, sardonic chuckle, _"is the most ironic of all. It was either coincidence, an accident, or the will of the shard itself, depending on how you look at it. I was standing on a hillside, overlooking a field, when I saw a bright flare of light in the sky, and curious fool that I was, I ignored my instincts, which told me to hide, and continued to watch. _

_"When the Shikon no Tama first broke, it shattered with a violent force that propelled the fragments in all directions, and with such velocity that even my demon eyes could not recognize them for what they were until it was too late. I was in the direct path of one of the fragments. I couldn't get out of its way, and it struck me directly in the chest. Before I could dig it out, it had wormed its way into my heart and had taken up residence._

_"You were there, weren't you, Inuyasha? You saw how the Jewel broke. You know how fast and how far the fragments traveled in only a few heartbeats. The shard that ended up in my heart never even touched the ground, at least not until after I had died._

_"I couldn't get it out. It had lodged itself too deep within me, and I couldn't dig it out, though I did try. It was only after I gave up trying to remove it that I began to feel the sinister presence of one who had the power to harness the Jewel's powers and channel them. I could feel him trying to reach out and taint the shard that had taken root in my heart. Through it, he sought to control me. I had only one choice: I had to shield the fragment, to keep it from being reached by the taint. It took all of my shielding capabilities to keep it masked from Naraku's gaze."_

Inuyasha started; "Naraku? You've encountered Naraku?"

_"Not directly; I could feel his taint. He used other shards to try and corrupt the one I carried."_ Nijimaru eyed him measuringly. _"Your response to the name indicates that you know him."_ This was worded as a statement, but clearly was an invitation to speak, to explain.

"I'm hunting the bastard, as a matter of fact."

_"For revenge?"_

"You know about that?"

_"Your posture says as much. I do recall hearing much about you. The Forest of Rainbows was full of demon trees, and demon trees love to gossip. I recall hearing that the Shikon no Tama possessed you in such a way that its protector was forced to seal you to a Great Tree."_

Inuyasha snorted; "I was not possessed by the Jewel! Naraku played a dirty trick on the priestess who kept the Jewel, and on me as well."

_"I deduced as much. Your father was among the greatest of the taiyoukai, and by virtue of your inheritance of his blood alone, you are too strong for the Jewel to possess blindly. Therefore I knew it could not be as the demon trees said. There had to be more to the story._

_"Bokuseno provided the missing pieces of the puzzle. He is very much aware of your whereabouts at all times, and aware of what transpires with you. He says that you carry a piece of him with you, which is what enables him to know so much about your movements. However, I must admit that I was unaware that you are actively hunting Naraku. Even if he did wrong you, you are going to extraordinary lengths for revenge that cannot possibly be worth the effort."_

"Keh! What the hell do you know? Revenge for what he did to me is only part of what drives me. Naraku must be destroyed. There is no alternative. Hell, even Sesshomaru is hunting him."

_"He is very dangerous, Inuyasha. You must not underestimate Naraku."_ Nijimaru's form became suddenly very solid, as if to accentuate the severity of his warning. _"You must keep this in mind, if you are so adamant to hunt him: Naraku is one who is capable of mastering the Shikon no Tama. Other youkai and humans can use the power of the Shikon fragments, but Naraku is capable of bending it to his will. He has the ability to overpower the innate will of the Shikon no Tama itself. Therefore, even a fragment of it is far more dangerous in his hands than it would be in anyone else's, for he can harness every ounce of its malevolent powers and turn them to his purpose."_

Miroku felt as though he'd been doused with ice water; his blood chilled almost instantly at the very thought of Naraku being capable of _mastering_, not merely using, the Shikon no Tama.

"Do you know where Naraku has gone?" Inuyasha responded.

_"Gone?"_

"Yeah. A few months ago, he lured Sesshomaru and I both to his castle, but he underestimated me -- "

"Inuyasha, I imagine that he underestimated Sesshomaru as well, if he thought he could absorb a taiyoukai so easily," Miroku interrupted.

"Bah! Fine! Naraku underestimated both of us, but especially me, and I kicked his ass damned good, but he ended up escaping before I could finish him off. Now we don't know where he's gotten to, there isn't a trace or a scent trail of him, but we know he's still alive. One demon we encountered said that Naraku has gone to a place where no one can find him."

"This happened before you died, Nijimaru," Miroku added. "When we first met you, we had only just learned that Naraku is hiding where he's certain no one can find him."

Nijimaru frowned contemplatively._ "I see. I'm afraid I can't help you. I have no knowledge of where he could be. I was not even aware that he had relocated."_ The spirit of the demon lord looked deeply troubled. _"As I said, I am deeply indebted to you and have no way of repaying my debt. If I could, I would give my healing powers to one of your companions, but it is not a talent that can be transferred. I cannot even offer you my assistance once you finally corner Naraku. And I am terribly sorry that I had to drag you and your companions into my affairs."_

"Ultimately," Miroku reasoned sagely, "it was our business as well, since there was a fragment of the Shikon Jewel involved, and since you had some valuable knowledge to give us regarding Naraku. That's the first I'd ever heard of someone being able to master the Jewel. Now we know to be more careful around Naraku where the Jewel is concerned."

Nijimaru regarded the monk with an unreadable expression. Then he turned his iridescent eyes to Inuyasha. _"The only thing I can offer you in payment of my debt is to commend you to your father's spirit once I have crossed over. Of course, if he is half the taiyoukai they say he was, he'll already know all about your courage and compassion, but I can pay my respects all the same. I'm afraid I have nothing else I can offer you. Even now my time is waning quickly. The call of the other side is becoming irresistible."_

"One more thing," Inuyasha said quickly, before Nijimaru could leave. "Kiniromaru -- is she at peace? She was in so much pain for so long. Is she finally at peace?"

Nijimaru smiled at him. _"She will be, once I have returned to her the piece of her soul that the shard had imprisoned. Like me, she has been barred from the world beyond, and she wanders the borderlands idly, waiting for her freedom. She thanks you for setting her free, as do I."_ The spirit demon lord looked up at the sky, as if gauging how much time he had left. _"One more thing: I suggest you get that fragment purified. I did what I could while I was imprisoned by it to keep its taint shielded, but it is still badly corrupted and will require purification, or else it will become a magnet for other youkai."_

He solidified temporarily and reached out, taking Miroku's sealed right hand in his own right hand, and Inuyasha's left hand in his own left. _"I thank you. If ever I can somehow bridge the gap between worlds and come to your aid, I will. Fare you well."_ And with that, he simply dissipated, as if a gust of wind had puffed through an illusion of smoke.

Inuyasha's ears twitched wildly for a moment; "When did he -- ?"

"What?" Miroku looked at his hanyou friend, and noticed what had his attention.

Gleaming in his left hand, clearly left there by Nijimaru, was the Shikon fragment.

"When did he pick it up? I thought it was still laying in the dirt over there," Inuyasha squinted his eyes and looked sharply where the fragment had been prior to the explosion. It wasn't there now.

"Who knows? Are you going to give it to Kagome?"

"Yeah, I guess I should. Here, why don't you do it, monk?" Inuyasha made motions of dropping the fragment into Miroku's hand, but the monk jerked away.

"No way. That thing is badly tainted. I won't touch it. It's your burden, you said, so it's up to _you_ to hand it over to Kagome."

"Bah, you chicken. C'mon, let's get back to the camp. But I warn you now, monk, you make any moves on Kagome, and I won't be responsible for what happens to you."

"I haven't forgotten." Miroku suppressed a shiver. "Lead the way."

* * *

**Response to some reviews**: This part of the story is set immediately prior to the Shichinintai arc, so these events take place around the time of episode 100 to 101. Therefore, Naraku, unbeknownst to the gang at present, is sequestered away in Hakureizan (Mt Hakurei) and is about to make their lives ridiculously complicated. Thus, I will not be bothering with having the gang find Naraku... _that_ much is already canon. However, I think I have some ideas for chapter 19... it's chapter 20 and beyond that have me stumped. I don't know that I will be bringing Sesshomaru into the story much anymore, he made more appearances than I originally planned, but I can't say with any certainty on anything.

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**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	19. Part Nineteen: Borderlands

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**Author's Note: **I lied XD. Sesshomaru bullied his way back into the story! He's so pushy! This chapter also played out very differently from what I'd originally imagined. I'm not sure where I will be taking it from here. Obviously, though, the story isn't finished yet.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Nineteen: Borderlands**

Kagome had fallen into a restless sleep when suddenly the forest roared and trees went crashing some ways off in the distance. Sango stood up and grabbed Hiraikotsu to keep it at the ready.

"What in the world was that all about?" Kagome burrowed a little in her sleeping bag, hugging Shippo close.

"That's coming from the direction Inuyasha went in," Sango said with a frown. Which meant she was worried about Miroku and Kirara as well.

"Sounds like at least five trees went down," Shippo said. "I don't have Inuyasha's nose, but I think if something had happened to them I'd smell it."

"I think it's best if we stay here," Sango said finally. "If there's trouble, Inuyasha can handle it alone. We can't see very well in the dark, so it's probably best if we stay here."

"Miroku's with him anyway, and so is Kirara," Shippo added. "He'll be fine."

The roar escalated as the largest of the trees finally hit the ground with an almighty crash, and the forest fell completely silent. Too silent.

Shippo sat up, crossing his little legs. "I'll stand watch. You girls can go back to sleep." Kagome smothered a giggle at his attempt to act grown-up.

Sango smiled and patted the kitsune on the head; "Done deal, Shippo. I am a bit tired, after all." The exterminator curled up with a blanket and dozed off, propped up against Hiraikotsu.

Shippo poked Kagome. "You can go back to sleep, Kagome."

"Easier said than done, Shippo," she said with a sigh, trying to snuggle into the warmth of her bedding. "I've got a lot on my mind."

Sango and Shippo had pried out of her why she'd Sat Inuyasha so many times -- she had feared the very thing that Shippo had jokingly said. She'd feared that Inuyasha had felt a kindred spirit toward Kiniromaru and had begun to fall in love with her. Sango had voiced loud disapproval at Kagome's assumptions, saying it was beyond stupid to think that he'd fall in love with someone who had tried more than once to kill him.

But Kagome couldn't think of any other answers as to why he was behaving so strangely. He wouldn't let her purify the Jewel fragment, and he got huffy and defensive if anyone even so much as mentioned Kiniromaru. It was not so dissimilar from talking to him about Kikyo.

_I give my heart to him, and now this? Honestly, I wish I could stop loving him._

Kagome reflected with some regret on her outburst earlier that evening. It really hadn't been very nice of her to Sit him that many times. One carefully timed Sit did it just as succinctly as a series of three or five of them, and it wasn't as hard on his back.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but sleep eluded her. She probably wouldn't be able to rest soundly until Inuyasha returned. She just didn't feel safe without him. She knew that Sango was very strong and capable... but Inuyasha was inhumanly strong and fast. The sounds of a large animal approaching at a slow and deliberate pace did nothing to ease her apprehension.

She heard a tentative sniffing and opened her eyes slowly to see Shippo standing up next to her, his tail stiff. He was sniffing the air. Then she saw him look over at her, and above her -- "EEEE!" He screeched and tumbled back, landing almost in the coals of the campfire.

"Don't move," a cold, familiar voice instructed from directly overhead.

_Sesshomaru? What's he doing here?_

The taiyoukai's voice, low though it was, brought Sango fully awake.

"What are you doing here?" the exterminator demanded.

"I should ask you that, but I see that the lowly half-breed has abandoned you. Typical of a half-breed, I suppose, though rather disgraceful for the _ inu-youkai_ blood in him." Sesshomaru sounded displeased, more so than usual.

Kagome rolled slightly and tipped her head back, looking up. He really was standing directly over her. If she reached out, she could touch his long sleeve, which hung just inches above her. But he turned his amber eyes to her, and the chill in his gaze froze any thoughts of moving out of her.

It was in moments like these that she was reminded of his true nature. Whatever else he was, he was a killer. An honorable one, possibly, whatever Sango might say, but a killer nonetheless. As a general rule, he despised humans and thought nothing of killing them if they got in his way or if they annoyed him.

Considering Inuyasha's hesitance to kill anything unless it was absolutely necessary, it made her wonder what the Inu no Taisho had been like. The two brothers were so unalike, it made her wonder what their father's personality had been like -- which of his two sons resembled him in spirit more?

"Where is he?" the inu-taiyoukai demanded coolly.

"Who?" Kagome blurted, a half-second before kicking herself. Sesshomaru could only be asking about one person. He knew they knew nothing about Naraku's locale. Obviously he was inquiring about Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed marginally. "Considering the scent here -- this place is rife with it -- I'm surprised the half-breed took off. Perhaps he has better tastes than I gave him credit for."

Kagome had just enough time to realize that Sesshomaru wasn't alone, that he'd brought with him his companions - the toad-imp Jaken, the two-headed dragon creature and the cute little human girl that no one could figure out why Sesshomaru bothered to even let live, let alone allow to travel with him - and that they stood just a few feet behind him. Then a feral growl from about ten yards away interrupted the moment.

"What the FUCK are YOU doing here?" Inuyasha snarled savagely as he stalked into the campsite. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. Sesshomaru wouldn't have any more to do with them if Inuyasha was around. He seemed to prefer to deal with his little brother exclusively.

"That, to some degree, is my question," Sesshomaru said calmly, though his eyes flashed momentarily.

_This is bad,_ Miroku thought to himself as he viewed the situation. _ This is really bad. Inuyasha is aggressive enough as it is, and now Sesshomaru has appeared. If there's one person who can put Inuyasha in a violent mood, it's his brother. And Sesshomaru has to know what it is that's gotten Inuyasha uptight. He's got a nose that's every bit as good, and he's certainly more worldly. He'll probably be acutely aware as to why Inuyasha isn't himself, and he'll probably use that to his own advantage. He's always looking for ways to one-up Inuyasha, I'm sure of it. Inuyasha sliced off his arm, flattened him with the Wind Scar, and if what Inuyasha says is true, he also saved Sesshomaru from being absorbed by Naraku. Sesshomaru's got to be annoyed, to say the least._

_I've got to stop this now, before it gets out of hand._

Miroku shoved forward, stepping in front of Inuyasha even as the hanyou drew Tetsusaiga. "Let me handle this, Inuyasha. You're too worked up."

"Back the fuck off, monk. I warned you. Sesshomaru, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I should ask you that," Sesshomaru replied, "because you are in my territory. This is _my _forest."

Miroku held his hand out, trying to hold Inuyasha back, and was rewarded by an uncharacteristically violent shove that sent him stumbling toward the campfire. He barely managed to keep his wits about him and keep from landing face-first in the coals.

Inuyasha cocked Tetsusaiga up, gathering the Wind Scar around the blade, but Sesshomaru struck with practiced ease. Raising his hand up level with his eyes, his nails glowing a slight ominous green, he slashed his hand around, sending out his energy-whip. But instead of using it like a weapon, as he usually did, he merely wrapped the whip around Tetsusaiga's blade and with a sharp jerk of his arm, the whole motion wrenched Tetsusaiga out of Inuyasha's hands. The blade spun through the air and impaled itself into a tree trunk, losing its transformation as it did.

"Alas, Father bred with a human and produced an idiot far stupider than any half-demon has a right to be. I did not come here to fight you, Inuyasha, and if you had half a brain in your head, you'd know that."

_Oh I get it!_ Kagome thought. _So _that's_ why he brought his companions -- as proof of his benign intentions. _

"I see the scent has addled your wits, little brother." Sesshomaru dropped his hand back down at his side, leaving the hilts of both of his swords untouched. His face was as stoic as ever, but with Inuyasha disarmed, he looked slightly -- very slightly -- smug... or maybe that was just a trick of the light?

_What the hell is he doing? He's deliberately provoking Inuyasha!_ Miroku ground his teeth in frustration as he dusted off his robes. Sango shot him a weird "what-happened-while-you-were-gone?" look that he chose to momentarily ignore. _Inuyasha threatened me twice because of the "scent" and how it's addled him, and now Sesshomaru is making a point of it. There's no way Inuyasha will let that slide. He says he isn't here to fight, but he's deliberately backing Inuyasha into a corner and forcing him to fight!_

Kagome sat up; "Sesshomaru, what are you talking about?"

She felt an instant chill as the inu-taiyoukai turned his eyes on her again. For a moment she saw a flame of pure hatred flicker through his steely golden eyes. She found herself unable to speak, to swallow -- she could barely breathe.

"_Get. Away. From. Kagome._" Inuyasha growled, his voice gravelly and feral with tension. "If you don't back away from her, Sesshomaru, **_I WILL KILL YOU_**."

Sesshomaru met his gaze and remained motionless, challenging the hanyou to follow through with his threat.

"Please leave, Sesshomaru," Miroku added, desperate to break the tension. If only the demon lord would leave. There was enough strife going on without him getting involved. "If you're not here to fight, there's nothing we can do for you. We have no further leads on Naraku than what we've already told you -- the Ox and Tiger."

"Leave?" Sesshomaru turned his frigid eyes to the monk. "This is _my_ forest. You are trespassing on my territory."

"Don't fucking pull a Nijimaru on me, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha snarled as he pulled Tetsusaiga out of the tree it was impaled in. To everyone's surprise, he sheathed the blade and faced his brother barehanded. "Is this because of the Shikon shards? Are you trying to tell us we can't be in your territory while carrying Shikon shards? Because that never stopped us before."

"I have no interest in the Shikon no Tama. Such a petty bauble has nothing to offer me. But I do not suffer fools to trespass."

"I don't give a fuck if this is your territory, we're only passing through." Inuyasha spat. "What are you going to do? Transform yourself and hike a leg on a tree to mark your territory?"

"If you leave us alone, we'll be out of your forest by sunrise," Miroku added, hoping to break the tension between the siblings.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he stared Inuyasha down, completely ignoring the monk. " You will answer me this: _why_ _do you attack my forest_?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"The forest screamed. Several trees were inexplicably torn down. And you, _ little brother_, were involved. The affected area reeks of you. The damage is such as I would expect from low-class youkai such as Naraku uses. Not even a hanyou should stoop so low as to inflict such senseless damage on a demon forest."

_Demon forest?_

"Demon forest?"

Sesshomaru favored his younger half-brother with a look of incredulous disgust; "Do you not know a demon tree when you see one? Do you go around recklessly killing them without knowing them for what they are? You are even more of an insult to Father's memory than I realized, if you are so idiotic as that."

_Oh shit! _Miroku felt his jaw unhinge in disbelief. _That explosion from the shard -- one of those trees must've been a demon tree! So that's why he's so angry -- he thinks Inuyasha killed one of his vassals, for no apparent reason._

This apparently was dawning on Inuyasha. "There are demon trees in this forest?" The hanyou asked, his face a brief study of uninhibited disbelief.

Somehow, that was the last thing Sesshomaru expected Inuyasha to say, because the demon lord had no response. His facial expression didn't change, but his eyes became clouded with confusion.

Inuyasha regained his composure; "I didn't kill those trees, though. The shard did."

_Technically,_ Miroku thought, scratching his chin, _you caused it, Inuyasha. You hit that shard with the Tetsusaiga... but then again, that's what released Nijimaru._ The monk looked over at where Kagome was scooting slowly away from where Sesshomaru still stood motionless._ I do wonder if that was necessary though? If Kagome had purified that shard, wouldn't Nijimaru have been released anyway? _

"Once again, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru's voice was icy with hatred, "you have an excuse for everything. This is beyond tiresome." He put his hand to Tokijin, drawing the blade and pointing it at Inuyasha. "Retreat to the edge of the forest, Jaken. I will meet you there when I have finished here."

The toad-imp bowed and grabbed the two-headed dragon's bridle, turning it around -- the thing was amazingly agile for such a big creature -- and hurrying out of the clearing.

Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga again. Kagome squawked in surprise and scrambled out of the way as the two brothers lunged simultaneously at each other.

"Great, not again," Sango grumbled as she braced Hiraikotsu against a tree and crouched behind it, using it as a shield. "They never quit!"

"What happened, Miroku?" Kagome asked as she gathered Shippo into her arms and huddled behind Hiraikotsu as well. Miroku crouched behind the tree that the giant boomerang was propped against. "What are they going on about, with the shard and demon trees?"

Miroku sighed. "Inuyasha tried to destroy that shard he's been carrying. He said he was keeping the shard himself as a reminder of how evil the Shikon no Tama is, because the shard from Nijimaru took a pure, selfless wish and corrupted it, and made Kiniromaru suffer because of it. I convinced him that it's a bad idea to keep a tainted shard around, and so he was his usual idiotic self and tried to destroy, to ensure that the Jewel will never be whole."

"What an idiot!" Kagome exclaimed. "You can't destroy it by breaking it apart -- he should _know _that! The whole reason we're hunting like we are is because of the Jewel's inability to be destroyed. Even when broken into dozens or hundreds of pieces, it's still not destroyed! What'd he do, hit the shard with Tetsusaiga?"

She said it in exasperation, but Miroku confirmed it with a nod; "Exactly. And when he did, the shard exploded."

"**_What!_**" Kagome, Shippo and Sango all said in unison.

"The Shard exploded -- violently, I might add -- when he hit it with Tetsusaiga, and that explosion is what knocked down a number of trees."

"Why did it explode?" Shippo asked, flinching as he watched Inuyasha get thrown against a tree by Sesshomaru's strikes.

"It turns out that part of Nijimaru's soul was imprisoned by the shard, and when Inuyasha hit it with Tetsusaiga, the force of the blow allowed Nijimaru to escape. So the explosion was Nijimaru breaking away from the shard."

Miroku seated himself in the dirt, strategically placing both the tree and Hiraikotsu in front of himself so that he wouldn't get caught by an attack from one of the two fighting demons. "Nijimaru manifested in front of us and explained a few things, which I found really disturbing."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one thing, he warned us that Naraku is someone who can master the Shikon no Tama. Not only can he use it, he can command it."

While Inuyasha and Sesshomaru continued to go around and around, trading blows and insults, Miroku recounted to Kagome, Sango and Shippo what he and Inuyasha had learned from Nijimaru's spiritual remains. Kagome grew very quiet, thinking about what they'd learned.

"What did Sesshomaru mean, when he commented about the scent of the area addling Inuyasha's wits? I know we don't have very good noses, but Shippo does, and he didn't sense anything out of the ordinary," Sango mused. Shippo nodded emphatically in agreement.

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say there are certain aspects of your gender that, at certain times of the month, generate a particular scent, and apparently Inuyasha reacts to that change in scent."

For a moment, Miroku felt his blood go ice-cold in recollection of what Inuyasha had said to him about the subject. _You're human. That means you can't smell the changes in Kagome. That one fact alone is all that's keeping me from ripping out your throat right now._ Even though he'd traveled with Inuyasha for many months, the thought that the _hanyou_ he considered a friend would for even a moment entertain thoughts of dismembering him for so trivial a reason... it was hard not to shudder. There were still some aspects of Inuyasha that seemed so primeval, so base, so... inhuman.

_And therein lies the problem. He _isn't_ human. Half-human, but half-youkai too._

Sango studied Miroku wordlessly, her forehead creased with thought as she waded through what he'd said.

Kagome sighed; "I wondered if he was aware of that. I guess that makes sense, I usually have that happen around the full moon. I didn't know my scent changed, though."

"You do smell a little bit different, Kagome," Shippo said, "but in a good way. Inuyasha's got a much more sensitive nose than I do, though. Maybe there's something about the scent change that hurts his nose?"

_Hardly,_ Miroku thought. _It's not his nose that hurts..._

Kagome hugged the kitsune kit. "Thanks, Shippo."

Miroku quirked an eyebrow at Kagome; "I'll mention this much: he threatened me with bodily harm -- and he wasn't kidding in the least, I might add -- if I made any suggestive overtures at you. Your change in scent has made him extremely aggressive for some reason, and I only hope we don't encounter Koga while this is happening, because I think that Inuyasha will rip that wolf apart, regardless of if you Sit him into the underworld."

Sango frowned; "Did he really threaten you, or was he just saying that?"

"He was completely serious. He told me that the only reason he wasn't ripping my throat out right then and there was because he knew I was unable to smell the changes in Kagome's scent. And he was completely serious." Miroku suppressed a shudder. "And of all the times for Sesshomaru to show up..."

* * *

**last updated: August 28, 2005**


	20. Part Twenty: Valley of Regret

****

**Author's Note: **This chapter takes some serious artistic/creative license. Up until now I've been trying to stick closely to canon, but now an idea has come into my thoughts and I'm taking the idea and running with it as far as I can. There is no canon information that I know of about Sesshomaru's mother, so I decided to create my own version (it's not like no one else has tried this or anything.) And because I don't usually do flashbacks, I feel a little awkward with how I've set up the segue to the one you see in the middle of the story (currently, it's just italicized to indicate a change in narration). If you have suggestions as to how I can improve the transition, I'd love to hear it! XD

**Disclaimer**Because this story is based mostly on anime canon, I'm chosing to completely disregard the movies. All the movies. That includes the third one, Tenka Hadou no Ken (Swords of World Conquest / Swords of an Honorable Ruler). Therefore the Inu no Taisho did not die in a burning building, because canon states that it was the wound from Ryukostusei that caused his death. Also, I'm not sure exactly what that red-and-white outer layer of Sesshomaru's clothing is called, so I called it a haori out of sheer habit. I think a kimono is a woman's garment (full length, like what Rin wears), so I chose not to call it a kimono.

**Update:** A few clarifications added, adjusted some grammatical inconsistencies and streamlined the punctuation.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty: Valley of Regret**

He was an idiot.

A first-class, impulsive, barbaric, baka-brained idiot.

To think that he'd let Sesshomaru get a rise out of him _again_.

Inuyasha ground his jaws together, parrying Sesshomaru's blows and trying to keep the fight centered around the campfire. He knew his companions were hiding behind a large tree, and as long as he kept his brother away from their location, Sesshomaru would pay them no mind. They didn't interest him in the least. They were only in danger if they either interfered deliberately or got in the way accidentally.

Sesshomaru was furious, that much was obvious. In fact, he was irrationally furious. His facial stripes were more pronounced and his eyes had a slight red glow. He was not only fighting Inuyasha sword-to-sword; he was also fighting an urge to transform, which was an idiotic idea in this small space.

Inuyasha couldn't figure out what had him so angry -- the last time he'd seen Sesshomaru this angry at him had been in their father's tomb, when Kagome had given him Tetsusaiga, an act that caused the demon lord to transform fully in his rage.

_What did I do to piss him off like this? I don't understand! I mean, even if he's mad about the demon tree, it was an accident! He should have realized that! His nose is twice as sensitive as mine!_

Sesshomaru was starting to make small mistakes in his attacks. A small miscalculation here, a slight slip there... he was losing his usually steel-clad touch with Tokijin.

Inuyasha brought Tetsusaiga up and blocked a strike, but Sesshomaru twisted around somewhat and sent the blade flying. Tetsusaiga impaled itself in the trunk of the tree that the others were hiding behind. Quick as a cat, the demon lord pivoted and Tokijin scored a blow on Inuyasha's right hand, ripping it open along the palm -- how he managed to do it was beyond Inuyasha's ability to comprehend at the time... had he had his hand out...?

_Shit!_ Inuyasha shook his abused hand and dodged another blow, feeling anger course through him. Not the demonic rage that being parted from Tetsusaiga usually brought, just a searing irritation. _I've fucking had it with his high-and-mightiness!_

He snarled savagely and threw a quick Blades of Blood at Sesshomaru, distracting the demon lord just enough. With a savage swipe of his left hand claws, he knocked Tokijin out of Sesshomaru's hand, then with his right hand he clawed at Sesshomaru's white-and-red haori, leaving several long tears in the fabric. He even managed to damage the white shirt underneath, though he failed to actually draw blood on the skin beneath it all.

All hell broke loose. Sesshomaru, forcibly parted from Tokijin and clawed by someone he considered beneath him, was on the verge of a full transformation. He was fighting it with all his rationality, but the scorching rage he'd inherited from his father was threatening to overwhelm his senses. His eyes were now fully red, his irises having gone from lush gold to obsidian black. His facial stripes had tripled in size and his face was starting to elongate. He was fighting it, but he was losing it as the blistering heat from his internal fury burned through his veins.

Inuyasha leaped up and used a tree to push off of, launching himself at Sesshomaru. With a quick one-two slash of both hands, he shattered the breastplate and sent the armor off in pieces. Now the white-and-red haori was really getting ripped apart.

_How dare that hanyou claw this Sesshomaru! How **dare** he!_

Inuyasha flexed his claws and grinned ferally at his older half-brother. "I always did like a good fist-and-claw fight, and I've got you at a disadvantage, Sesshomaru. You only have one fist and set of claws. I have two."

"_**SILENCE, YOU WORTHLESS, USELESS HALFBREED!**_" As Sesshomaru roared his challenge, Inuyasha felt his blood go cold suddenly as he spied a familiar pinkish light out of the corner of his eye. He was hard-wired to recognize and react to that light...

_Thunk!_ An arrow buried itself in the tree beside Sesshomaru. A few white-silver hairs stuck out from where the arrowhead was impaled.

_Not Kikyo -- not now of all times!_ Inuyasha turned to the source of the arrow, prepared to lambasted the archer... only to find not Kikyo but Kagome standing at the edge of the camp, another arrow nocked in her bow. She had the arrow aimed directly for Sesshomaru's heart, which was conveniently accessible to the arrow thanks to the shattered armor.

"Inuyasha," she commanded. "Move another muscle and I'll yell the word. Sesshomaru, if you move an inch, I'll fire this arrow. I'm a much better shot than I was the last time you faced me like this."

Sesshomaru seemed to ignore her as he brought his hand up to his right temple, feeling along it and looking at the arrow nearby. His expression was one of mild, masked confusion and some disbelief. Something had happened that had never happened before and had caught him off guard.

_So that's what happened. It grazed through his hair. She deliberately missed, catching only his hair with the arrow's head. It was a warning._

_Damn but she's a good shot. By the time this whole thing with Naraku is over, she may be better than Kikyo!_

"Get out of my forest, you filthy barbaric halfbreed," Sesshomaru turned his angry eyes -- they had returned to their usual gold -- to Inuyasha. "Get out now. You've done enough damage. You have killed Eimaimatsu, for whatever reason. Get. Out. You are no longer ever welcome in my forest."

"Eimaimatsu?" Miroku rolled the name across his tongue, trying to figure out what the demon lord was saying. The name meant, roughly, "great and wise old pine tree."

Sesshomaru turned hateful eyes to the monk, and Miroku instantly regretted speaking, as the full force of the demon lord's smoldering fury hit him. "You," the _inu-_taiyoukai snarled, "are not worthy of saying that name."

"Too bad you can't use Tenseiga, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha taunted. "A cold-hearted bastard like you could never master such a sword. Too bad, too, cuz I bet it could save this Eimaimatsu."

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and slowed his breathing as a flame of killing fury swirled up in his heart. _Tenseiga cannot save Eimaimatsu. The idiot doesn't know what he's talking about. Tenseiga is not capable of saving demon trees. Their deaths are too quick and final._ He reminded himself that Inuyasha didn't know that he had already mastered Tenseiga. He'd used it more than once, and had tried to use it on Eimaimatsu, but for the first time since the blade had first lent him its otherworldly sight, he had been unable to save the slain demon tree.

Tenseiga pulsed in the back of his mind, a soothing hum of condolences. In the light of its comforting waves, his fury and grief wicked away like smoke escaping a fire. The Sword of Healing couldn't heal injuries, but it could calm a wounded and angry soul, to some degree...

Sesshomaru opened his eyes slowly and regarded his half-brother apathetically. "You are a fool and an idiot, Inuyasha. You know nothing about Tenseiga; you barely know anything about Tetsusaiga. You never knew our great and glorious father, and yet you act like you know his heirlooms." His voice was resigned. He reached over and plucked Tokijin from where it had landed, effortlessly sliding it into place beside Tenseiga at his hip. "I mean it, Inuyasha. Leave this forest. You have until sunrise. You are not welcome here anymore." With a final disgusted look at his half-brother, he turned and left, determined to keep his cool as long as he could.

As he faded into the forest, Inuyasha retrieved Tetsusaiga and sheathed it, staring after his brother. "What the hell was his problem?"

"I've never seen him so angry," Sango said. "It's like he was going mad with anger or grief. It's like you did something unforgiveable to him. What happened?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha said. "I... I guess that tree that the shard took out was a demon tree, but I didn't sense any youkai power from it. It wasn't like Bokuseno. Bokuseno had a demonic presence -- it was faint, but I could still sense it. This other tree didn't even have that."

"Why did his eyes go red?" Shippo asked. "It kinda reminded me of when you transform into a full demon... what was happening?"

"He was trying to transform, or trying to not. It looked like part of him wanted to, and part of him didn't."

"Do you mean," Kagome said slowly, "that he was losing control of himself?"

"That's what it seemed to me."

"Do you suppose the full moon affects him?" Miroku ventured.

"Doubt it," Inuyasha waved that off. "I don't think the moon has anything to do with anything with Sesshomaru."

"Even though his forehead is marked with crescent moon?"

"Kirara has a black diamond on her forehead," the hanyou replied hotly. "So what? It's just a marking. It doesn't mean anything."

Miroku raised an eyebrow but chose to stay silent. He doubted that the crescent moon on Sesshomaru's forehead was a mere marking.

Inuyasha flinched suddenly and slapped his cheek. As he pulled his hand away, his face dropped into a "well-look-what-I-found" expression. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the old flea?"

Myoga snapped himself back into shape and bounded up and down on Inuyasha's palm; "What in the world have you been doing, Master Inuyasha?"

"Protecting my hide from Sesshomaru, who got his hakama in a knot, I think. I notice you waited until he left to make your appearance."

The flea gallantly ignored the jibe. "What'd you do to anger him?"

"I dunno. He says I killed someone named Eimaimatsu."

Myoga gasped audibly; "You didn't!"

"I dunno if I did or not!"

"Myoga, who _is_ Eimaimatsu?" Kagome asked.

"Eimaimatsu is the ruling demon tree of this forest. He's a fifteen-hundred-year-old pine tree. He also was the most trusted advisor of Her Royal Highness, the Inu no Kisaki, Kuukoku no Kiraboshi."

"Who?"

Myoga looked annoyed; "None other than Sesshomaru's mother, of course."

"His mother?"

"She was the ruler of a very, very powerful tribe of inu-taiyoukai in the Northern Province. She commanded a vast army of soldiers, and was well loved and respected by her people. She and the Inu no Taisho were joined in a political union -- an alliance, if you will -- that was fulfilled once their son reached maturity. They weren't very close, I recall. Your father," Myoga pointed at Inuyasha, "didn't think too highly of her, as a matter of fact."

"Interesting," Miroku said contemplatively. "Her name means Lonely Valley of Glittering Stars, doesn't it?"

"Kuukoku was her family name," Myoga explained. "The Northern Province was once a mighty realm, before the Inu no Kisaki died. Most of the region was a series of valleys and ravines. I suppose it's rather tragically ironic, too, that her surname means Lonely Valley, given how she died..."

* * *

Sesshomaru ran his hand along the bark of Eimaimatsu's trunk. His heart welled with turmoil and grief. Tenseiga remained silent, unable to help him right now. There was nothing it could do to help Eimaimatsu. Demon trees weren't like normal creatures. When they died, their souls were transported instantly to the other side. The imp-like pallbearers never appeared because they weren't needed.

As powerful as it was, Tenseiga was helpless when faced with the death of a demon tree. And of all demon trees to be cut down senselessly, it had to be the one living creature Sesshomaru regarded with such high esteem and reverence. The one link to his long-dead mother, and a sweet but brief childhood he barely remembered, that he had left, and it was gone without warning.

He closed his eyes and fisted his claws in frustration. It was like that day, decades ago, when he'd watched helplessly as Ryukotsusei scored a chance blow on his honored father, fatally wounding him. While the Inu no Taisho had been able to neutralize the dragon and render it powerless with a claw to the heart, the dragon's attack had so weakened him that the mighty Dog General had been unable to levy a finishing blow, and had shortly thereafter collapsed and bled to death.

_All because I was a fool and overestimated my own abilities. Father died to save me, just as Mother died to save me centuries before._

Sesshomaru still remembered it as if it was just yesterday. Ryukotsusei had intruded on the territory of the Inu no Kisaki, and had challenged her to try and force him out. At first she'd tried sending troops in to drive the dragon out, but Ryukotsusei was a dominant young adult dragon and had easily thwarted the troops. Eventually, Kiraboshi had sent for her erstwhile "husband," the Inu no Taisho, to come help her. He'd flat refused, his reply being that her territory was her own business to protect, and that he had other threats to his own domain to deal with at the time.

Sesshomaru had been prepubescent then, unable to take care of himself in the dangerous countryside. He had followed his mother around everywhere, including to the valley she calledAitou no Tani (which would take on new meaning to him later in life) despite her stern orders to the contrary. Eventually, she relented and let him accompany her to the Valley of Sorrows. He was fascinated with her kingdom and wanted to learn everything she could teach him, and she tended to spend long hours in this valley, contemplating.

Part of the agreement between the Kisaki and the Taisho had been that their son would be reared by his mother, and when he was of an age -- once he'd reached puberty -- he would go to live with his father and learn the ways of a General. In that way, they would both educate their son to be the ruler of both of their realms when both were gone. At the time of his mother's death, Sesshomaru hadn't yet been old enough to be sent to his father. He hadn't been old enough to control his periodic spirit-dog tranformations, and until his could harness the transformation energies and employ them at will -- which would come with full maturation -- Kiraboshi did not want him leaving the protection of her lands.

The Inu no Kisaki had been young, only a few centuries old, and had not bothered to secure a Regent should something happen to her before her son was old enough to succeed her. She herself was the only surviving child of the late Inu no Mikado, and her son was the only rightful heir to follow her rule. She hadn't expected anything to disrupt the lineage.

And then the dragon came into the picture, taunting the Dog Empress relentlessly, threatening to eat her son and to take over her realms. Because Ryukotsusei took up residence in theAitou no Tani, where she often let her son explore, the risk to Sesshomaru was far too great for theKisaki to ignore.Kiraboshi had been infuriated by Ryukotsusei's threats to steal her territories, but his threats toward her son were what sparked her to action. After sending in several units to try and drive out the dragon, to no avail, the Inu no Kisaki finally went in herself. Her spirit-dog form was spectacular in its size and power, second only to that of the sire of her only child. She was a battle-wise fighter and had fought dragons before, but Ryukotsusei proved to be more than even she could handle.

Sesshomaru had been with the vanguard of the legion, watched over by his mother's seneschal, and got a front-row view of when the dragon sliced through the Inu no Kisaki's chest, rending her heart and hurling her toward the ground, mortally wounded and bleeding. Ryukotsusei then delivered the fatal blow, snapping her neck with one powerful swipe of his claws.

Sesshomaru had few memories of the aftermath of his mother's death. He only remembered watching her die, and knew vaguely that his mother's armies had swarmed in, overwhelming the battle-wearied dragon and managing to drive him out of the valley for the time being. But with the Dog Empress dead, it was only a matter of time before the dragons came back and made good on their threats.

Eimaimatsu had advised that Sesshomaru be sent to his father's protection. It was imperative, the tree said, that the heir to the realm be protected from the dragons. And though he did not care for his one-time "wife," there was no doubting that the Inu no Taisho would love and protect his son with his own life. The court nobles had scoffed at the idea and said that the father need not interfere. Eimaimatsu, concerned for Sesshomaru's safety, sent word that very same evening to the Western Provinces.

* * *

_The forest was cold and wet. Eimaimatsu was singing very softly, a soothing chant, trying to calm the young prince, who had sobbed himself into exhaustion several hours ago and now just lay curled up at the tree's base, looking for all the world like a little lost puppy. The poor thing had lost the most important person in his very young life, and with the court nobles embroiled in custody battles, trying to decide who would take over Regency of the realm until Sesshomaru was fully matured, he was ignored and alone. Eimaimatsu was certain that no matter who took control of the realm, the new Regent would contrive to have the young prince killed somehow. Thus, he had sent word through the demon trees to Bokuseno, a powerful magnolia demon-tree allied to the Inu no Taisho. Bokuseno would relay the message quickly to the prince's father._

_Sesshomaru was huddling against Eimaimatsu's bark when he heard the tree interrupt his chant to say, respectfully, "Well met, my lord. I am glad you came with all speed." Looking up, he saw a forbidding figure decked out in magnificent armor emerge from the shadows of the forest. The figure was vaguely familiar... he'd seen this man before, but it had been a very long time ago._

_The inu-taiyoukai that stood mere feet away was a dominant adult male, that was obvious. Across his back he had a greatsword, and both of his shoulders were draped in a lush fur stole that reminded Sesshomaru of the cape his mother had always worn. The fur was a status symbol. _

_He radiated power and strength, and the wind wandering through the trees danced with his long silver hair. Unlike Sesshomaru, his cheeks were decorated with only one set of stripes, but they were formidable in size. And also unlike Sesshomaru, his forehead bore no celestial markings. Nevertheless, he was clearly extremely strong. He deserved his title of Inu no Taisho._

_"F-f-father?" Sesshomaru wiped his eyes and looked up._

_The Taisho took three steps toward the boy and knelt before him, placing a hand on his shoulder; "I've come to take you with me, Sesshomaru. You will be safe with me."_

_"M-mother's dead..."_

_"I know that, my son."_

_"My lord," Eimaimatsu interjected, "why did you refuse to aid Her Highness when she asked you?"_

_"I had a little problem from the continent invading my provinces, and she did not inform me of what kind of dragon she was having problems with. Had I known it was a young dominant male dragon that was threatening Kiraboshi, I'd have told her to wait until I could aid her. The two of us together could have overpowered it." The Taisho looked down at his young son. "I'm sorry I couldn't help your mother, son. I wish I could have spared you that trauma."_

_"Will you avenge her?" Sesshomaru asked, startling his father with the maturity of his question._

_"A dragon that has killed a ruling inu-taiyoukai is not something to be taken lightly, Sesshomaru. I do not have the energy or the resources to combat that dragon at this time. Perhaps someday I will avenge her, but not right now, and neither will you. You have too much to learn to worry yourself with vengeance. When you have reached your full strength, then we will track the dragon down -- if it is still alive -- and destroy it. But not until then. You will have to wait, my son. Now come, we have a long distance to travel."_

* * *

Because the Dog Empress had not had the foresight to name a Regent or a Steward to look after the realm until Sesshomaru was old enough to rule it, chaos followed her sudden death. When Sesshomaru disappeared from the region as well, all hell broke loose. Eimaimatsu closed off his forest, calling upon the services of a nearby hogosha-taiyoukai to maintain a ward around his forest until the dangers had passed.

With Sesshomaru absent from the Northern Province, the court nobles seized the Province in their collective jaws and proceeded into a feeding frenzy. As a result, the once-glorious Northern Province fell into ruin with internal fighting and civil war between court nobles. Eimaimatsu's forest was the only portion of the Kisaki's realm that was unharmed and unspoiled.

It was never far from his mind how he would avenge his mother's death, even as he followed his father and learned all that the Inu no Taisho could teach him. As puberty set in and he learned to master his transformation energies, he'd started pestering his father about pursuing the dragon, to which the Taisho had responded with flat refusal. He still had more to learn, the Taisho insisted.

Finally, in resignation, Sesshomaru stopped asking and simply followed his father's instruction, all the while contemplating how he'd avenge his mother's death once he reached his potential.

So it had been for two and a half centuries. Sesshomaru followed his father's examples and at one point ventured out on his own to travel the lands, to see what strength he had and what abilities he needed to hone. While he was on one of his treks, the unthinkable happened: the Inu no Taisho took a human woman as his mate. And not only did he take her as his mate, he _bred_ with her. _ Not just mated with her -- bred with her, creating a half-demon, half-human freak of nature._

Up until that time, Sesshomaru had held his father in the highest respects. But when the Dog General lowered himself to breed with a human, that infuriated him. To him, it was bad enough that the Inu no Kisaki was still unavenged, but for the Taisho to _breed_ with a human... The Taisho knew perfectly well how other youkai treated a hanyou -- why had he gone to the trouble to create one from his own bloodlines?

That was the first time Sesshomaru realized that his father didn't trust him. After two hundred and fifty years of following his father like a good student, to learn that his father did not trust him to be a competent heir to his realm came as a terrible, humiliating blow. Unable to turn his anger on his father, he centered the humiliated anger on the unborn hanyou, swearing that one day he'd prove himself to the Taisho, prove that _he_, not this half-breed freak, was the dutiful son and heir.

And in his anger and frustration, he decided to finally hunt down the dragon that had killed his mother twenty-five decades before. A strange flea-demon retainer of his father tried to talk him out of it, but he refused and swatted the creature away, insisting that it was long overdue for his mother's death to be avenged. Myoga had begged him to at least take his father with him, to not overestimate his own abilities. Sesshomaru had angrily refused, certain that he was powerful enough to take on a dragon.

That was the single most costly mistake he ever made, choosing to go it alone. From the moment he entered the Aitou no Tani, he'd had a feeling that he'd made a mistake. Ryukotsusei was far from geriatric, was nimble and cunning, and most importantly, he knew the usual tactics of an inu-taiyoukai.

Relatively early into the battle, Sesshomaru received a staggering blow to the forehead that scrambled his wits and later caused him to be unable to remember much about the battle in detail. All he knew was that when he transformed, he realized just how much larger than him the dragon really was, and how much smaller than the Kisaki's form had been he still was.

And Ryukotsusei knew it too.

The dragon sent him around the valley a few times, chasing him leisurely and blocking every strike. His thick hide was so impenetrable that none of Sesshomaru's venom attacks were making the slightest difference. And because he was the one doing the chasing, he was able to conserve his energy, ensuring that his prey tired himself out quickly.

In the end, Sesshomaru had gotten backed into a corner, and had resigned himself to his doom when another spirit-dog attacked the dragon. The Inu no Taisho had come to his son's rescue.

Exactly how the Dog General found out about Sesshomaru's plans regarding the dragon, he never did find out, though he suspected that Myoga had a hand in it.

His memories of the Taisho's battle with Ryukotsusei were terribly inconsistent and spotty, unlike his memories of the Kisaki's fight with the dragon. He only remembered clearly the moment the Taisho speared the dragon in the heart with a claw, rendering him dormant. In that moment, the Taisho reverted his transformation to his human-form, and it had been then that Sesshomaru realized that Ryukotsusei had inflicted a mortal wound on the Dog General... and that his honored and beloved father wasn't wearing either of his famed swords Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga. Tetsusaiga could have finished off the dragon without such a prolonged battle, and Tenseiga would have protected him from receiving a fatal wound.

The question was, why did the Taisho take them off and leave them behind? Had he known he was going to his death? Had he feared his son would rob him of the swords before his body was even cold? The implications of the Taisho's decision cut Sesshomaru to the quick.

_"I told you not to take him on, Sesshomaru," the Taisho scolded even as he slumped wearily to the ground, bleeding profusely. "That dragon is smarter than most dragons. I wish you'd listened to me, son. There is more to life than vengeance. You still have so much to learn, and I'm afraid I won't be able to teach you myself anymore."_

_"Father, don't talk like that. Where is Tenseiga? I'll go get it for you and -- "_

_"Forget about me, Sesshomaru. And forget about Ryukotsusei. One inu-taiyoukai cannot defeat him alone." Sesshomaru caught the Taisho as he collapsed, feeling the life-force draining from him like blood from a severed vein._

_"But you did, Father."_

_"No, I only immobilized him. Nevermind that. It doesn't matter. My time is finished. But you, my son, you still have a lot of growing to do, and I only wish I could have instructed you further. You must forget about this valley. There is nothing here but sorrow and regret and death." _

Sesshomaru had watched his father die, just as he had watched his mother die two and a half centuries before. After the Taisho's death, he had retreated to the Forest of Sorrows, as he had begun to think of Eimaimatsu's forest. Just as he'd sought the tree's support after the Kisaki died, so did he seek out the tree when the Taisho died. The wise pine tree had consoled him as best it could, but in the end, even Eimaimatsu had been unable to ease the guilty ache that plagued him.

_If I hadn't been so damned proud and so sure of myself, Father would still be alive. He died because I was a fool. How can I live that down? I was trying to prove myself worthy of his attention, and instead I ended up costing him his life._

* * *

Sesshomaru blinked his eyes as he emerged from the forest to find Jaken and Rin waiting for him, right where he'd expected them to be.

_How did I...?_

Silently he cursed himself for being so wrapped up in those awful memories that he didn't even recall leaving Eimaimatsu's fallen form, nor did he recall walking through the forest to this point.

_Once again, I let down my guard. I really need to focus myself. I can't always be this lucky. I know how dragons are, and they wouldn't hesitate to attack me again, if they though they could get me at a disadvantage._

Ryukotsusei had taught him a valuable lesson about his own limits. He would not ever underestimate a dragon again. Any species capable of destroying someone like his father, or his mother, was a species to be taken very seriously. He hadn't even ever returned to the Aitou no Tani until Tenseiga one day pulsed at him and in one way or another informed him that Tetsusaiga had conquered Ryukotsusei. He had obeyed his father's last orders. And in doing so, that damned half-breed had gotten the jump on him and had destroyed Ryukotsusei in his place.

And now Eimaimatsu was dead because of Inuyasha. It made his blood boil with rage and grief.

Tenseiga pulsed gently, soothingly.

_It's not enough, Tenseiga. I don't care if it was an accident. Inuyasha caused the death of the one demon I considered to be my friend. I can't forgive that, any more than I can forgive myself for causing the death of my revered father._

* * *

"Unbelieveable," Miroku said finally as Myoga fell silent. "Ryukotsusei killed _both_ of Sesshomaru's parents?"

"That he did. He was extremely knowledgeable in inu-taiyoukai tactics and used that against both the Kisaki and the Taisho." Myoga looked up at Inuyasha. "I imagine your killing Ryukotsusei didn't go over very well with him; he always did want to be the one to exact vengeance on the dragon."

"So why didn't he?" Inuyasha asked. "Sesshomaru has no problems fighting dirty. He probably would have delivered the killing blow without removing the claw, just to be sure that the dragon was dead."

"The Inu no Taisho forbade him to return to the valley," Myoga said, "and whatever you might think of your brother, he does keep his word."

"So Eimaimatsu was the last link Sesshomaru had to his mother," Sango said softly, her eyes misty with unformed tears. "No wonder he was so angry. He thought you killed Eimaimatsu."

"But I didn't!" Inuyasha snorted. "It was the shard's doing."

"Be that as it may," Miroku said, "you were involved, and he could smell you. Therefore it stands to reason that he'd blame you. He doesn't care about the Shards, we've already established that. I wonder if he even realizes just how powerful they are. He called it a useless bauble, which leads me to believe he doesn't realize just how dangerous even a shard of the Shikon no Tama is."

"That reminds me," Inuyasha said, reaching into his haori and pulling out the Shard in question. He held it out to Kagome. "Here. I guess it's best if you hang onto it. With my temper, I'd probably just make the whole thing more tainted and end up getting us all killed out of sheer stupidity."

Kagome gaped at him, flabberghasted not only by his offering the Shard, but also by his self-depracating way of doing so. Sango and Miroku both stared at him as well, and Shippo hopped up onto his shoulder, prodding him experimentally.

"Hachi, is that you?"

Inuyasha swatted the kitsune off his shoulder; "Of course not, shrimp! Here, take the jewel, Kagome, before I change my mind!"

* * *

**Author's afterword**: Here's how I came up with the names.

**aitou** (n) condolence; regret; sorrow; sympathy; lament  
**eimai** (adj-na,n) wise and great**  
kiraboshi **(n) glittering stars  
**kisaki **(n) empress; queen**  
kuukoku** (n) lonely or uninhabited valley  
**matsu** (n) (1) pine tree; (2) highest (of a three-tier ranking system)  
**tani** (n) valley

And I stylized the Inu no Taisho's death based on a fanart done by Patches  
http/ updated: August 28, 2005


	21. Part Twenty One: Most Important

**Author's Note: **This chapter takes place immediately after Episode 107, which has aired on Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. It also takes place before the events of Episode 108. I know this chapter's short, but I still haven't quite figured out where I'm going with this new arc.

**Disclaimer: **Okay, yeah, I'm using Band of Seven instead of Shichinintai. XP Kind of in keeping with the Viz dub. But as I've said before, I've substituted "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer" (which I can't stand) with "Soul Scattering Iron Claws"

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-One: Most Important**

Inuyasha snapped the branch in his hands and tossed it into the fire to keep the flames going. As it flared, the campfire illuminated the still-pale faces of his three human companions.

An unwelcome chill of fear trickled down his spine.

He'd come so close to losing them. So close to losing everyone he'd come to care about. His makeshift pack...

He clenched his fists in the loam of the forest floor, grinding his teeth against the bitter taste of guilt. _I nearly failed them. If Myoga hadn't come when he did, I'd be all alone._

For so long he'd tried to tell himself that he didn't care about anyone, that being betrayed by Kikyo had taught him that no one could be trusted. But he knew he was lying to himself. Inu-youkai and humans alike were gregarious creatures who thrived in communal environments. Both of his natures craved company.

It would have been hard enough losing Kagome. But to lose Sango and Miroku too would have been unthinkable.

_To think... I'd actually miss you, you pervert,_ he thought, studying the monk's pallid features from across the campfire. _You drive me crazy, but in a tough spot, your wisdom comes in pretty handy._

He let his gaze wander over to the exterminator, guarded by the two-tailed firecat. _And you, Sango. The one person I can rely upon in battle. I can't imagine what life would be like without you right now, with Naraku still to be hunted._

And losing Sango would mean that Kirara, whom he depended on as well, would abandon him. Of all his companions, only Shippo would have been left had Myoga not shown up when he did. And Shippo only because he had nowhere else to go.

The kitsune was curled up beside Inuyasha right now, sleeping fitfully, apparently dreaming. The others were also asleep. It was near midnight, and the nearly-full moon was peeking through the boughs of the trees.

Inuyasha was adamant that the group stay here until everyone had recovered their strength enough to travel. He would protect their encampment himself; he would not take any chances that they might encounter a member of the Band of Seven before they had all recovered.

Shippo twitched restlessly, whimpering.

_Poor little guy. He's had a helluva day. I keep forgetting that he's just a kid, a kid who watched as his own father was brutally murdered by Hiten and Manten. He's had it every bit as hard as I have, and he very nearly lost his surrogate family today._

Shippo whimpered, shuddered and cried out as the throes of his nightmare seized him by the throat. A moment of paternal protectiveness enveloped Inuyasha and he placed a hand gently on the little fox kit's tiny shoulder. The fox kit then awoke with a yip of surprise.

"Easy, kiddo, you were having a nightmare." Inuyasha said in a very, very low tone, low enough that he was pretty certain none of the humans could hear him. He pitched his voice at a timbre so deep the standard human ear couldn't detect it.

Shippo looked around the camp, wild-eyed. "They -- are they -- is everyone -- "

"Everyone's fine, Shippo. Go back to sleep."

Shippo curled up into a fetal position and his wide eyes misted over with tears. "I'm scared."

It was hard on the little guy, Inuyasha reflected, because he'd forbidden the kit to sleep in his usual place, curled up in Kagome's arms. Inuyasha was concerned about Kagome's health. She'd taken more poison than the others, and she wasn't as hardily-built as the other two. He wanted to be certain that she'd get plenty of rest. Unfortunately, Shippo wasn't taking the whole situation very well. He liked to be cuddled. It helped ease his fears at night.

_Not that I can blame the poor kid, he's been through so much._ Unwelcome memories of a vast emptiness of the soul greeted these thoughts. Memories of a mother's warm embrace suddenly gone. There were good memories in there too, memories of love and affection, of being nurtured by a loving mother, but they were followed up by hideous memories of how the town had turned him away upon his mother's death. After his mother died, he'd never again felt the warm comfort of an affectionate embrace. At least, not until Kagome came into his life. Not even Kikyo had been physically expressive of her affections.

Before he had a chance to second-think it, Inuyasha scooped up the trembling kitsune and folded his arms around the tiny body. Shippo looked up at him with wide, incredulous eyes, but Inuyasha deliberately closed his own eyes and shifted his position, slouching down to get comfortable. After a moment, Shippo accepted the unexpected gesture for what it was and burrowed into Inuyasha's arms, slipping off into dreamless slumber.

For some reason, Inuyasha felt at peace. Despite all that had happened, there was a certain sense of belonging, sitting here by the campfire, cradling a tiny warm body in his arms while watching over the rest of his back.

_I just hope no one wakes up to see this, and that Shippo keeps his little mouth shut about this._ It wouldn't do to have his reputation shattered.

He lost track of time as he dozed, occassionally rousing enough to kick another log into the fire. By the time the day broke clear and fresh, he felt relaxed and more at ease with the events of the past two days. He was still resolved to eradicate the Band of Seven, but now his anger was manageable.

"Amazing what a good night's rest can do for you, isn't it, Master Inuyasha?" Myoga said cheerily from his place on Inuyasha's shoulder as the hanyou set the fox kit down and stood up, stretching his limbs.

"Yeah," Inuyasha admitted. "Now I should go get something for them to eat. Kirara," he looked over at the firecat, who looked up at him with her intelligent gaze. "Keep watch over them. I won't be far."

Kirara nodded and rumbled a deep growling purr in assent.

By the time he got back from a quick hunt at the nearby stream, bringing back a nice catching of fish, everyone was awake and moving, though their movements were still sluggish and groggy. Kagome was in the process of drinking down another draught of Myoga's antidote when Inuyasha tossed his catch onto the ground next to the fire. "Breakfast."

"It's raw," Shippo said.

"I don't cook, you know. I'm a hunter, not a preparer."

"I'll take care of it," Miroku offered with a smile.

"How'd you sleep, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep his mind off of how badly everyone still looked.

"Very well, actually. It was kind of nice, in a weird sort of way. Did you sleep at all?"

"A little, but I don't need much."

_Crack._

"What was that?" Sango asked warily, reaching for Hiraikotsu. Though weakened by the poison, she was still strong enough to heft the weapon, though her aim was liable to be pretty poor.

Inuyasha put a hand to Tetsusaiga's hilt, testing to see if it wanted to be drawn or if it didn't want to be drawn. The sword gave no indication one way or another. Whatever it was, Tetsusaiga didn't recognize it as friend or foe. Inuyasha inhaled deeply, rolling the scent along his tongue to gauge who approached them. He was immediately assailed by the scent of a demon, not a human. Not a corpse, not gravesoil and not death. A pure demon. And though the scent seemed vaguely familiar somehow, he was certain he had never met whoever it was who approached them.

"Kirara, shield them. Sango, use your weapon as a shield. I'll take care of this. It's not one of the Band of Seven. It's a demon, and not one of Naraku's demons, either. Kagome, is there a Jewel shard involved?"

"No," Kagome said as she and Miroku both crouched behind Kirara's bulk. "I don't sense a shard anywhere nearby at all."

"Good. All right, whoever you are, show yourself. Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

There was a deep rumbling from the entryway to their campsite as the demon emerged from the foliage. It was a demon horse -- a spirit-horse -- with hooves that seemed to be aflame with blue fire. The horse's hyde was a rich liver chestnut, and the mane and tail were a flaxen-silver hue. A near-perfect six-pointed star adorned its forehead, and the opalescent eyes blazed with righteous anger. The horse's entire posture was that of territorial aggression.

"Great, more fucking horses," Inuyasha groaned. "No wonder that scent seemed familiar. I bet he's related to Nijimaru."

At the mention of the deceased hogosha-taiyoukai, the horse's expression hardened and the demeanor became hostile. Flames crept up the creature's legs until all four legs were encased in blue fire, from shoulder to hoof.

_You are intruding upon my territory,_ the horse projected aggressively. _I do not permit intruders into my territory. Intruders are executed._

* * *

Bernice Gordon has done a beautiful piece of artwork that really inspired the early portion of this chapter (Shippo snuggling with Inuyasha). **Update:** Go to my profile forthe link to the picture. This site doesn't allow me to post urls and hyperlinks in stories. 


	22. Part Twenty Two: Spirits Afire

****

**Author's Note: **I use a little pun here. "_bake-uma_" is Japanese for "spirit-horse" and refers to what Hiuchimaru's true form is. Entei (who shows up in episode 141 and probably won't show up at all in this entire fic, just because he's so far removed from this arc) is described as a "_bake-uma_" or a "_yoruba_." Inuyasha calls Hiuchimaru "_baka-uma_" which means "stupid horse." The difference in pronunciation is very subtle, but it makes a world of difference. I'm italicizing the words for the emphasis of the pun, just to call attention to them, mostly.

**Update**: Argh. Had to fix the way the afterword showed up. And a quick note to **Patriot1776**: I am working on the sequel to "Unbreakable," but I'm running into writer's block; and Saoirse is the name of Hiuchimaru's deceased mother, not Hiuchimaru himself.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Two: Spirits Afire**

As the first lights of dawn broke through the trees, illuminating the argent hair of the transient demon lord resting against a pine tree, the Fang of Life, Tenseiga, hummed in its scabbard. Sesshomaru's eyelids lifted warily.

_What is it, Tenseiga? What troubles you? Is it the walking dead that we follow? Are they nearby?_

**Everything. Nothing. Yes. No.**

Sesshomaru ground his jaw. The sword's duplicity was getting on his nerves. It had been pestering him off and on the past several days. Ever since he'd followed that scent to the poison-filled hut and had seen his brother's pathetic packmates all racked out helplessly, succumbing to the poison.

_If I were half the bastard Inuyasha thought I am, I'd use it to my advantage that my arrival save their miserable hides. I'd make him pay some form of tribute to me. He would too, if I forced him to. He's as pathetically soft with those humans as Father was._

Tenseiga speared his thoughts with an annoyed lance of pain as it dredged up from deep memory the image of his father dying in his arms.

_Stop it, Tenseiga._

Tokijin murmured in the back of his mind as well, its thirst for blood and destruction increasing. Sesshomaru ground his teeth tighter, feeling some of the joints in his lower jaw popping at the unexpected pressure.

**Bloooooood... Give me blood.**

_Silence, Tokijin_. Sesshomaru mentally pierced the blade's focus with a bolt of irritation. It demurred instantly.

In truth, he was getting heartily sick and tired of the sword's tunnel-visioned, single-minded focus for unceaseable destruction.

_Not even Father's greatsword had this kind of bloodlust, and it was forged of a dragon's fang._

He stood up, the rustle of fabrics of his clothing awakening the dragonet creature as he stood. Aun lowed a greeting; Rin and Jaken each stirred in their slumber as the dragonet stood up, sending the imp rolling from its shoulders into the dust. Rin hung onto the twin manes as the creature raised itself to its full quadropedic height. The left head shook itself very equine-like, while the right head yawned hugely, very canine-like.

Jaken sputtered and spit the leaves out of his mouth. "What's the matter, my lord? Does something approach?"

"Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin asked hesitantly. "Are you all right?"

"He's fine, you stupid girl! Lord Sesshomaru is always fine."

_Oh how wrong you are, you moronic twat,_ Sesshomaru thought irritably. "We're goi--"

Tenseiga seized him just as he was speaking, pulsating strongly and resonating in its scabbard. It was trying to warn him of something, he was certain of that. Tokijin's attention swiveled around.

_Demon trees. Hostile demon trees._

"My lord?" Jaken asked. "What's the matter?"

"Rin. Get on Aun and stay there."

"Um, I _am_ on Aun, my Lord..." the girl said hesitantly, arresting his attention with the statement. That moment of inattentiveness was all the demon trees were waiting for.

They struck.

* * *

"Careful, Inuyasha," Miroku warned. "That _bake-uma_ is generating a strong demonic aura! It's a strong one and not one to underestimate."

The spirit horse snorted menacingly and took a step forward, lowering its head and unhinging its jaws. Its mouth glowed an ominous blue.

"You know something,_ baka-uma_?" Inuyasha growled, curling his lips back and baring his fangs in a canine snarl, as he drew Tetsusaiga. "You picked the wrong day to fuck with me. You make one wrong move and I'll Wind Scar your ass to the North Sea."

The horse neighed, its ears pinned flat to its skull, eyes blazing. The neigh carried through the forest, seeming to reflect back and to surround them with its cacophony. Shippo, whose hearing was more acute than the humans' was, cowered with his hands over his ears. Even Inuyasha squinted with the noise.

Deep in the forest there was a clamoring, like a great army moving.

"What _is_ that?" Kagome wailed over the sheer volume of the noise.

"It's probably that horse's herdmates coming in for the kill," Sango said with a shudder. "God, we've got to get out of here! I didn't survive that horrible poisonous fog only to die at the hooves of demon-horses!"

"Shut up! None of you is dying, not while I'm around!" Inuyasha shouted. "Now stay there. Kirara, make sure nothing happens to them!"

Kirara roared in agreement and braced herself curling her tails around her human companions.

The horse threw its head back and reared up, balancing itself on its hind legs. Its mouth widened and a serpentine hissing issued from its jaws. The blue glow from its mouth sparkled and flashed, and then enormous blue flames jettisoned forward. They were a greenish-blue not unlike Shippo's fox-fire. But unlike Shippo's fox-fire, they were hot and persistent, and deadly as the flames of hell. With out delay, the horse launched its assault. Inuyasha blocked the horse's strikes with Tetsusaiga, but the animal's size enabled it to blaze a path across the grove. Shippo tried to put up a fox-fire block, but the demonfire blitzed right through it, singing the little guy's tail badly (even Shippo didn't quite understand why it was his tail that got singed instead of the rest of him).

"Why didn't my fox-fire work?" he sobbed as Kagome gathered him close and tried to calm the frightened kit.

"Because your fox-fire is a form of demonfire, which is exactly what that thing is using," Miroku said. "Since that creature is full-grown, fully-matured demon -- and might even be a demon lord -- its demonfire is much stronger than yours."

Sango ducked behind Hiraikotsu as another stream of demonfire blazed through the copse.

"It's not burning any plantlife!" Kagome marvelled.

"AUGH! Miroku hollered as his right arm was scored by a stream of the fire. "But it's burning me! It'll burn us to ashes if we're not really careful."

Kirara batted at the flames with her tails while Inuyasha paused in battle to shrug off his fire-rat haori. He hurled the cloak over Kagome, who drew Sango and Miroku in under the cloth's barrier.

"Why didn't the fire burn your glove, Miroku?" Shippo asked, noticing that the burns on Miroku's arm and hand were surrounding the purple glove that covered the hellhole in the palm.

"Because the cloth is saturated with spiritual powers. Anything strong enough to hold back the Wind Tunnel is strong enough to repel demonfire. It's partly because of the prayer beads, too. Pity that that's the only cloth I have that's that strong, spiritually."

"Indeed," Sango said, shifting Hiraikotsu to block a jet of demonfire. "I'm just glad I had a chance to repair Hiraikotsu a couple of months ago. That extra veneer of polish is helping it to hold off this demonfire, but I don't know how much longer it'll hold."

"Let me try something!" Kagome said, grabbing her bow and quiver. Nocking an arrow into the bow, she took aim of the horse's forehead, aiming for the center of the six-pointed star. _Hit the mark, please!_ She released the arrow and prayed.

The arrow blazed a bright pink ray of light as it erupted from the bow, searing through the air and striking the center of the horse's forehead. But unbelievably, the arrow shattered against the star. The spirit-energy exploded upon impact, knocking the horse back against the trees. But the arrow's unexpected shattering shocked Kagome stupid.

"That's never happened before," Shippo observed.

"The arrows have taijiyan flint arrow-heads. They should carry the spiritual energy all the way through -- they should have broken that creature's head open!" Sango ground her teeth. "What in the world is going on here?"

"What are you doing, Miroku?" Kagome asked, noticing that the monk was sifting through his many sutra charms.

"Trying to find one to neutralize that thing. Sango, is that creature a hogosha-youkai, do you think?"

Sango peered at the creature from the safety of the cloak and Kirara's flame-retardant fur. "I think so. I'm about five-to-one sure that's a hogosha-youkai."

"Eighty-percent is good enough for me. INUYASHA! Watch out!" The monk stood up and hurled a sutra through the air. The scroll arched through the copse and struck the horse in the forehead just as it was about to strike.

The horse screamed and fell backwards, crashing to the ground as its blue fire swirled up around it. The demonfire swirling through the air dissipated as the blue fire around the horse demon coalesced and dispersed in a cloud of bluish-gray smoke. Gone was the mighty, hut-sized spirit horse; what was left was a human-shaped demon lord knocked flat on his back by the blow of the sutra charm.

He was rather handsome, actually, with cherry-wood chestnut-colored skin and hair that glittered between golden-flaxen and silver-flaxen. He was dressed in a manner that rather reminded Kagome of Sesshomaru, but without the long sweeping sleeves, the oversized shoulder-stole or the bizarre spiked armor. His clothing was simple but regal. His hands bore gauntlets, and he wore a shoulder-scabbard, which housed a broadsword whose hilt was set with a blazing fire-opal.

The demon's forehead was decorated with that same star pattern. As he came to, his eyes glinted with a slight opalescence.

Inuyasha thrust Tetsusaiga a mere breath's-width from the demon's throat. "Any last words before I slit your throat?"

The demon looked up at him with an expression that was altogether too close to wonderment.

"Just two... for your priest, as a matter of fact."

"Keh. Oi, Miroku. The demon wants some last rites, apparently."

The demon chuckled to himself as Miroku came over and knelt beside him awkwardly. "Actually, all I wanted to say was, nice shot. I've never been hit like that before. I suppose it's nice to be defeated by someone this strong. All right, inu-hanyou. You've defeated me. Carry out your execution." He tipped his head back, baring his throat for execution, and closed his eyes resignedly.

_Something's not right here,_ Miroku thought. _He's submitting too easily._

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said from where she leaned against Kirara. "I think... I think that that's a bad idea..."

Inuyasha looked over at her, then around. _Dammit, all I can smell is the smoke from the demonfire. If we're surrounded, there's no way for me to tell_.

He sheathed Tetsusaiga and crossed his arms in frustration.

"You're... not going to kill me?" the hogosha-youkai opened his eyes and sat up.

"You submitted. I can't kill you if I'm of inu-youkai stock, in case you didn't notice. Who are you?"

"Not the first question I'd expect from you when you fail to deliver the execution you threaten," the demon said with a smirk as he got to his feet. Miroku scuttled back, suddenly full of misgivings about the creature.

The demon noticed his departure and chuckled drily. "You've beaten me fair and square, monk, hanyou. I'll leave you two alone." His expression hardened. "However. The exterminator and the priestess have some answering to do."

Inuyasha's hand darted out faster than the eye can see and seized the demon by the throat. "You touch a single hair on anyone's head, and I'll rip you limb from limb. Don't you _dare_ fuck with me, _baka-uma_. Now, I asked you a fucking question." He released the horse demon's throat.

"Good grief," the hogosha-youkai said with a dignified set of his shoulders. "You've got a temper on you. My name is Hiuchimaru, and I am the guardian of this demon forest. I am the only son of uma-youkai leader Saoirse and hogosha-taiyoukai Nijimaru, guardian of the Forest of Rainbows."

There was a collective sigh of dismay. This demon was related to Kiniromaru and Nijimaru!

_Great, now what?_ Kagome thought. _He's got to know who was responsible for both of their deaths..._

"Okay," Hiuchimaru said after a long silence, his countenance hardening, "I can tell you know at least one of those two, by your faces. And considering my mother died about twenty years ago, I'm assuming it's Nijimaru you knew, though why he had anything to do with a hanyou, an exterminator, a monk and a priestess, is beyond me. What's going on? How did you know Nijimaru?"

Suddenly no one wanted to speak.

"Answer me!" Hiuchimaru growled. "How did you know my father? And why won't you talk?"

"Fuck you, _baka-uma_. I defeated you; I don't have to answer your fucking questions. You answer me this," Inuyasha snarled. "I saw Kagome shoot you with an arrow. It shattered on your forehead. Why?"

Hiuchimaru glared at him but thought better, apparently, of challenging the group that had so completely overcome him. "I told you that my name is Hiuchimaru. I have an affinity to flint. The arrow's head was made of flint. By my very affinity with the stone, I cannot be harmed by flint arrowheads."

"The only other relative of Nijimaru that I recall had an affinity to ice," Miroku said contemplatively. "It wasn't immediately obvious, only when she transformed into her spirit horse form, but she had immense powers over ice."

Hiuchimaru's gaze hardened again. "You knew my sister Kiniroko?" In the blink of an eye he drew his broadsword and held it to Miroku's throat. "Answer me! How the hell do you people know my father and my little sister? Nijimaru disliked humans, and Kiniroko downright hated them." The sword in his hands pulsed with a strong demonic presence. It was a youkai blade.

Inuyasha stepped in and parried the blow of the broadsword, pushing Hiuchimaru back. "I warned you, harm a single hair on any of them and I'll slice you into bits. I fucking damned near lost all of them to some no-good walking corpses with poison and fire at their commands, and I'll be goddamned if I let you hurt any one of them!"

"I don't understand," Hiuchimaru said with disbelief. "What is your sword made of? It's not steel. And it can't be iron, because iron reacts to flint as well!"

"Enough with the fucking questions. I've had it with you! WIND SCAR!"

A barrier spiraled up around the demon, deflecting and absorbing the Wind Scar. Hiuchimaru held up a hand as if commanding an army to hold its fire...

"Wait. Do not shoot. I did provoke it."

_What the...?_

"Lord Hiuchimaru!" a voice called from the northern edge of the copse.

A breeze swayed one of the trees and an unusual birdsong seemed to capture Hiuchimaru's attention for a moment. Then, faster than sight, he lunged forward and used his sword to bat Tetsusaiga out of Inuyasha's hands when he wasn't paying attention. The sword cartwheeled through the air and landed not far away inside the forest.

"You stay here. I'm not done speaking with you." He brought his hand up to his lips as if he were speaking an incantation... and then with a single whistle, he raised an energy barrier dome around the group. "Ishi, Sekiei, Hekigyoku, you three come with me. The rest of you, keep them here. I want to question them further and I don't want any of those weird demons that have been rampant lately in this part of the forest to disturb them."

He disappeared through the barrier and vanished into the forest.

"Dammit!" Inuyasha rammed against the barrier.

"He knows about Tetsusaiga's barrier-breaking ability, I'm sure of it," Miroku said. "That's why he knocked it out of your reach, Inuyasha. I really think there's nothing we can do right now. We'll just have to sit and wait for him to come back. I'm exhausted now, I'm afraid."

"And what if he doesn't come back, huh?"

"The barrier will weaken in 24 hours if he doesn't return to strengthen it," Miroku replied. "He'll be back, or else we'll be able to get out. I need to rest, and I imagine that Sango and Kagome do too."

* * *

_**Names: **_**hiuchi ** flint **  
ishi** stone**  
sekiei** quartz**  
hekigyoku ** jasper  
Saoirse is just a name I found that I really liked. It's not Japanese -- I think it's French -- but I liked it anyway. I don't have any idea what it means.

**last updated: September 7, 2005**


	23. Part Twenty Three: Distant Voices

****

**Author's Note: **Man! I just keep delaying the main point of this arc. I meant to have it show up last chapter, and ended up postponing it to this one, and now new plot developments have pushed it back again. So hopefully next chapter will be the real meat of the arc; this is mostly setting up for it. Hooray for filler! Though, really, this chapter plays a part in the whole arc, it's not something I recommend skipping. But you'll notice who _doesn't_ appear! Go figure. Well, even Takahashi-sensei does it occassionally (leaves the title character entirely out of a chapter).

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Three: Distant ****Voices**

_"Sesshomaru, my son, I have something very important to teach you today, and someone very special to me that I want you to meet," the Inu no Kisaki, Kuukoku no Kiraboshi, smiled as she directed her only child over to stand beside a very large pine tree deep within the forest._

_Sesshomaru looked up at his mother, his golden eyes wide with anticipation._

_"You remember all those wonderful stories your aunties have told you, about how your father rose to power and took control over the entire western provinces?"_

_"Yes, Mother."_

_"Do you know how it is that we know so much about those stories? The western provinces are a long distance away."_

_"No, Mother, I don't know."_

_"It is because of the trees. This forest is full of demon trees. Your father's territory also houses a forest of demon trees. This is the Tsuki no Mori; your father's forest is the Niji no Mori."_

_"Demon trees, Mother? Youkai that are like trees?"_

_"Youkai that _are _trees, my son. The demon trees are the historians of the youkai world. They store within their trunks all the histories and stories of our kind. They cannot move, and so they are not dangerous youkai. Therefore, unlike other youkai, demon trees must never be killed. You must always remember this, my dear little son: never, ever kill a demon tree. You never know what vital, valuable information you will be destroying along with the demon tree. All ruling taiyoukai have a demon tree advisor. Therefore, I'd like you to meet my most trusted advisor of all. This," she patted the big pine tree, "is my dearest friend in the world, Eimaimatsu."_

Sesshomaru chided himself harshly for the impromptu stroll down memory lane -- what a time to do so! But all he could think of, as he parried the blows hurled at him by these demon trees here, was that Eimaimatsu and his mother had lied to him... no, he told himself, they had been wrong. They had not lied to him, they just hadn't known.

_"But Mother, what if a demon tree attacks me?"_

_"Demon trees don't attack little princelings," Eimaimatsu replied sagely, startling Sesshomaru with the depth and timbre of his voice, as a kindly old face formed in the bark of the tree. "They are generally passive, and those that are not usually reek of their demonic energy. With your sensitive nose, you'd be able to smell a hostile tree and avoid it." The face smiled gently. "But do not worry. I promise you that I won't ever let a demon tree hurt you, Sesshomaru, Prince of the West." _

Sesshomaru snorted in frustration. _Don't kill a demon tree. _ Why did he have to think of that now, when he _was_ being attacked by demon trees?

_And why didn't I sense their demonic presence?_

He stabbed Tokijin into one trunk and dug his claws into another tree's bark, throwing all his poison generating energy into a venomous sting. Whether or not it worked, he didn't bother waiting to find out. He swung around and grabbed Tokijin again, the sword vibrating in his hand with a veritable bloodlust.

**Blood. Give me blood. Tree blood will do, only let me kill!**

_"Don't kill a demon tree." _The refrain seemed to scream in his mind over and over, even as he hacked and maimed at the limbs of an unknown number of demon trees.

He was hard-wired not to kill demon trees. His mother and Eimaimatsu had seen to that from the time he was old enough to walk. It was one of the most fundamental, most basic, most absolute properties of his entire being. He almost never killed mundane trees unless it was necessary.

What was he to do? These trees were trying to wrap him in their roots and branches, to restrain him. They were likewise targeting his companions.

**Do not lose control.** That had to be Tenseiga. Tenseiga knew how he'd felt upon finding Eimaimatsu's cadaver. Tokijin had no memory of such things. Tenseiga looked into the past; Tokijin saw only the here-and-now. Tenseiga knew that he was close to losing control over everything. He still had so much to learn about himself...

_"You don't want that on your conscience," Eimaimatsu said, his gong-like voice sparkling with vivacity. "You don't want the death of a demon tree on your conscience."_

Sesshomaru slashed at the swaying branches, trying to clear a path while Jaken, Aun and Rin tried to maneuver out of the forest. He had forbidden Jaken from using the Staff of Two Heads against the demon trees. The last thing they needed was a forest fire.

_Never kill a demon tree. You never know what else will be lost._ He swirled around and slashed visciously at the tree that seemed to be leading the attack. _Don't kill a demon tree. You don't want that on your conscience._

He was getting fatigued. He hadn't slept very well the past several nights and fighting countless demon trees with all his energy, while trying to keep from blowing the place apart with his bottled-up power, was starting to wear him down.

_Never kill a demon tree. Don't kill a demon tree._

**Let me kill! **Tokijin raged.

**Don't lose control. **Tenseiga soothed.

It was sound advice, but it wasn't helping.

* * *

Hiuchimaru loped through the forest, listening to the trees as they directed his steps and guided him toward where a taiyoukai intruder had been discovered, and was currently being detained by the surrounding demon trees.

This forest was more densely populated by demon trees than any other forest anywhere; Nijimaru had told him it was because there was a nexus somewhere deep below the earth nearby that just radiated waves of spirit-power, the kind that youkai could use. Youkai were naturally drawn to it, just as they were drawn to the Shikon no Tama, but unlike the accursed jewel, this was pure power, generated by the earth itself. It was not tainted by the polarities of the world.

_"There is a mountain there, directly over the nexus, that is not natural," Nijimaru warned. "I believe that it is not part of the earth itself. I do not know what it is, but it is different from earth and stone. I believe it is there because of the nexus of power."_

_"What kind of power lies in the nexus, Father?"_

_"I do not know, Hiuchi, I did not get close enough to find out. Once I reached the edge of the forest, I felt too ill and weak to go any closer. It is not the kind of spiritual powers that human clergy possess -- the kind that can instantly purify and immobilize demons of all sorts -- but it is an energy that has such incredible potential that in its raw, pure form, it is hard to handle. Be very careful when you reach the borders of the forest. Do not venture outside of your forest. You will have enough to do keeping the peace amongst the gregarious demons and the demon trees. Do not worry about the sacred mountain, but do not for a moment forget that it is there, and that it is dangerous."_

Hiuchimaru effortlessly swept through the living forest, his keen ears having picked up the sound of confrontation some distance ahead of him. The three uma-youkai he'd commanded to come with him ranged out behind him, unable to keep up with long stride. Well, no matter. He could handle the situation himself. Whoever it was that had intruded upon the peace of the Eien no Mori would soon be dealing with the lord of the forest.

As he neared the location of the impromptu battle -- _Whoever it is, he's giving the demon trees a good fight!_ -- he felt a moment of consternation. There was something about the feel of the vicinity that made him hesitate.

* * *

_Don't transform, _Sesshomaru reminded himself, feeling his aura begin to glow red with frustration. _Dammit! If it were anything but a demon tree, I'd have flattened it by now. Any opponent but a demon tree--! No, don't transform. Don't transform. Keep your calm. Don't lose control._

Then his left shoulder screamed with acute agony. He looked down in disbelief to see an arrow impaled in his shoulder, only a matter of inches diagonally above his heart. The shock of the impact interrupted his subconscious attempts to transform, and his transformation energy wicked away like air through punctured lungs.

The demon trees didn't lose a beat and started to engulf him in their collective roots. It was eerily reminiscent of Naraku trying to absorb him, and yet...

Aun roared and one head blitzed a tree with its internal lightning. The other head blazed a hole in the forest canopy with its thunderous power; then the dragonet, with Rin and Jaken just barely clinging to its tack, launched skyward.

_I have no choice. _With Rin and Jaken both safely out of the way, Sesshomaru channeled his energy into Tokijin, feeling the sword grab hungrily at the power he supplied it. _I don't want to do this._ He slashed the roots and branches away from himself, burning the appendages with his demonic energy. _I have no choice. _He raised the scintilating blade -- _I don't want to do this, but I have no choice! --_ and slashed around in a violent arc, slicing cleanly through the base of the trunk belonging to the demon tree that seemed to be leading the assault.

Instantly the other trees let go, started and afraid now that their ringleader was struck down. Sesshomaru squelched a roar of... Anguish? Triumph? Frustration?... and let Tokijin cut loose with a devastating scythe of destructive power, splitting the trunks of all demon trees within a thirty-meter radius around him and felling them with a mighty crash. The forest then fell absolutely silent.

Panting with exhaustion, Sesshomaru looked up and around, sensing that someone else was nearby.

* * *

_Holy mother of all that is sacred..._

Hiuchimaru felt his blood go ice cold. The raw display of killing power aside, there was no mistaking this inu-taiyoukai. Between the awesome currents of power that fairly danced around him, the flowing stole of fur that graced his shoulder, and the azure crescent moon that adorned his regal brow, this was none other than the Prince of Dogs, Sesshomaru.

_I'm not ready to take _him_ on!_

Not that he would ever be ready, he feared. This same demon lord had been the one to kill Nijimaru.

_Had I known who was being detained by the trees, I sure as hell wouldn't have shot that arrow!_

Hiuchimaru knew also that he couldn't erect a barrier strong enough to hide himself from Sesshomaru.

As the two demon lords locked gazes, Hiuchimaru felt his blood entirely freeze. The inu-taiyoukai stepped deliberately toward him, his hand raised and his claws glowing a menacing lime green. The hogosha-youkai, who was on the verge of attaining taiyoukai status, stood his ground, hoping that submission would work a second time on a member of this inu-youkai clan. It had worked on the half-demon that shared this demon's blood.

Without saying a word, Sesshomaru slashed his hand savagely across Hiuchimaru's face, simultaneously releasing as much venom as he could through his claws. A lesser demon would have dissolved in the toxic miasma, but Hiuchimaru was not a lesser demon. Nevertheless, his eyes stung badly with the vapors of the poison and it was all he could do to remain standing.

"That," Sesshomaru growled, "is for making me kill demon trees."

Then, inexplicably, the dog demon lord turned and strode away, retrieving his dropped sword and slashing the bark off a few mundane trees as he went.

_He was too tired to finish you off,_ a voice whispered into Hiuchimaru's mind. _That's the only reason you're still alive. He didn't have anything left in him to kill you._

It was not a comforting thought.

_Ah, well, at least I've been spared. And at least I have time to train Opaaru yet. Ah, but first things first._


	24. Part Twenty Four: Flint and Steel

****

**Author's Note: **I have been looking forward to this chapter for a while! I finally get to use a few ideas I've been kicking around for a long time but haven't had the proper set-up to use them.

**Disclaimer: **I'm not sure if people in Feudal Japan actually imported animals from Africa and Sumatra, but seeing as this precedent was set by Rome, I imagine it's not unreasonable to assume someone did it in Feudal Japan. Call it ignorance on my part. Also, the idea surrounding the whole tiger incident was partly inspired by "Tangled Ambitions" by DarklessVasion. The idea of someone using exotic animals in this manner was kind of an idea I'd been kicking around, but discarded as useless for this particular story, until I read her story, and figured out how to use the idea myself.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Four: Flint and Steel**

Inuyasha paced the perimeter of the barrier like a caged tiger, intermittenly throwing Blades of Blood and Soul Scattering Iron Claws at the barrier. Nothing he did seemed to phase the barrier, not even clawing repeatedly at it. Miroku tried a couple sutras on it, to no avail, and not even Kagome's spirit-arrows seemed able to disrupt the barrier's seamless flow of energy. Miroku was certain that the spiritual power in the arrows was having an effect on the barrier, but not enough of one... it seemed like the energy currents altered instantly to compensate when a hole appeared. And because the arrowheads shattered upon impact, Kagome declined to try again after two arrows failed. She was running low on arrows as it was.

Minutes became hours as the barrier continued to swirl soundlessly around them. The three humans and the two full youkai chose to rest and wait, but Inuyasha couldn't stand being idle. His pacing was slowly, very slowly, increasing in speed as he prowled the entire perimeter of their enclosure.

_He reminds me of that tiger_, Sango thought, a stray memory from nearly five years before coming into focus. Her father had received intelligence about a man who captured youkai and used them in gladiatorial ways, for sheer entertainment. That in itself wasn't really enough to get the taijiya involved... but the fact that several of the youkai incarcerated by this lord were now figuring out how to escape and were rampaging, made it their business in the end. But upon arriving at the mansion, they had discovered that the so-called youkai were nothing more than exotic animals imported from distant countries, starved into aggression and set into a shabby arena in a deathmatch.

Sango clearly remembered seeing a huge Sumatran tiger pacing in its small cage, its amber eyes seething with hatred and madness. It had tasted human flesh before and would forever hunt down humans, the creatures who had so tortured it, until it died. Her father had said the only thing they could do was end its misery. Sango remembered the whole incident as being very hard for her to accept. The very thought that this beautiful mortal animal had to be killed because of its temperament, which was no fault of its own, was very difficult for her to come to terms with. Even now, she didn't much like killing animals except as a food source or in her own defense. That tiger had been caged up, had been unable to defend itself from the spears and swords used to slay it. Its dying screams and roars had haunted her dreams ever since. _The taijiya were only supposed to exterminate youkai, not regular animals..._

There was something in Inuyasha's entire body carriage that reminded her rather starkly of that beautiful tiger, who fought gallantly despite being caged and weak with starvation. And there was a smouldering madness in the hanyou's eyes. If Hiuchimaru didn't return soon, Inuyasha was liable to work himself into such a rage that his demon side might emerge...

She blinked as a shadow fell over her. Inuyasha stood over her, his cold citrine eyes glaring down at her.

"What?"

"Hiraikotsu," he said simply.

"Huh? What about it?"

He snorted impatiently. "Throw Hiraikotsu at the barrier. That's the only thing we haven't tried."

_Are you out of your mind, Inuyasha? If Kagome's arrows, the monk's sutras and your claw attacks couldn't phase it, what makes you think Hiraikotsu can? _"Inuyasha, are you sure about that. Hiraikotsu isn't the kind of weapon to take down barriers with. Its advantage is its weight and momentum. Barriers have blocked it before."

"I _know _that! I thought maybe its weight and momentum could weaken the barrier enough for me to rip it apart with my claws. I can't sit by and wait, unlike you three useless humans!"

"Well, the idea has some value, but there's a problem. I can't throw it right now. I'm still too weak from the poison to be able to throw it with any accuracy. If I don't throw it just right, it might bounce off the barrier and hit someone in this camp and really hurt them. Sorry, Inuyasha, but I can't do that. I can't endanger the others. Can you imagine what would happen to Kagome if she gets hit by it at full force?"

"Goddammit, I can stop the stupid thing if it gets out of control, you know! I'm tough enough that it won't hurt me."

_Yeah, right._

"And another thing -- I may be able to carry Hiraikotsu right now, but I don't have the strength to heave it at full force. I won't be able to get maximum effectiveness out of a throw even if I could throw it straight."

"Enough of the fucking excuses!" Inuyasha angrily snatched a leather handhold on the giant boomerang and pulled it right out from behind Sango. She just stared in dumb fascination as he lifted the boomerang effortlessly, cocked it back, and with a roar of frustration, hurled it forward.

The giant boomerang spun forward in a dizzying spiral and slammed into the barrier at full speed and full power. It seemed to be working -- the repeated impacts of the Hiraikotsu seemed to be affecting the barrier's flow -- but before Inuyasha could get to the emerging hole and widen it with his claws, the flowing currents of energy shifted and closed the hole again.

Sango stared at Hiraikotsu, laying discarded at Inuyasha's feet as the hanyou pounded futilely on the barrier with his fists.

_That was a perfect throw_. It had taken her forever to learn how to throw Hiraikotsu like that. And Inuyasha had done it perfectly the very first time he'd picked it up to use as a weapon. _He's been watching me. That's the only way he could possibly know how to throw it -- he's watched me throw it and commited my actions to memory._

"Dammit!" Inuyasha crouched down and picked up the boomerang, slinging it over his shoulder with one hand -- _He copied that posture from me too, unconsciously! Damn, but he learns quickly! I guess he would have to, to survive as long as he has_ -- and strode back over to Sango.

"Here. Guess my idea didn't work. But I'll say this much, Sango. My opinion of you just rose a bit -- that thing is hard to throw." His expression said only a slight bit more, and it took a moment for her to realize just how high of praise he was giving her. He had already had a pretty high opinion of her as a fighter, and for him to admit that said opinion was higher now, meant that he was quite impressed. It was rather flattering.

"Don't know why you insist on using it, but it does have its uses," Inuyasha added, bringing her out of her reverie. He looked over at the barrier, flowing evenly around them. "Damn that _baka-uma_. I'll rip his throat out when he gets back."

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't," a youthful voice piped up brightly as the barrier melted slightly, revealing a juvenile uma-youkai. "He's an idiot at times, but he's got a good mindset and a good heart."

The coltish uma-youkai looked like a ten-year-old boy, if that old. He had bright bluish-green eyes and blue-black hair pulled back into a braid at the base of his neck. He wore no armor, just a simple tunic and hakama. In his belt he carried a long dagger, but no other weapons. He was short, coming barely to Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Who the hell are you?" Inuyasha gaped at the youngster. "And how did you get past that barrier?"

"My name is Opaaru," he said with a bright smile. "And Hiuchimaru's barriers have never worked on me."

Inuyasha's hand darted out and seized Opaaru by the cloth of his shirt, lifting the youngster up off the ground. "You're going to get me out of this barrier, you got that?"

"Sorry, no can do. The barrier ignores me, but I can't hold it open for anyone. I can't even carry living things across a barrier."

"Then why are you here?" Miroku asked as Opaaru squirmed out of Inuyasha's grip.

"Well, I figured someone should apologize to you guys for Hiuchimaru being such an ass and not explaining why this barrier's in place. Attempting to break Hiuchimaru's barrier isn't very smart anyway -- he's perfected it to heal itself -- but if you do manage to break through it, you'll end up with the entire herd trying to shoot you apart. The uma-youkai of this forest don't like humans any more than any other herd of uma-youkai, but with all the things that have been happening lately, they've become much more hostile towards strangers. Father told me just the other day that he wishes Nijimaru were still alive, to help him control all the animosity and uprisings."

"What are you to Hiuchimaru?"

"He's my sire." Opaaru looked a little put out, as if that information was supposed to be obvious.

"What sort of things have been happening around here lately?" Kagome asked, wondering if there were any clues to Naraku's whereabouts to be had here in this forest.

"Well, for one thing, the area adjacent to the forest has been teeming with base youkai. Hiuchimaru has been able to keep them out for the most part, but it's only a matter of time before they breach his blockades. There also have been increased instances where resurrected humans have been penetrating the forest, causing havoc. Father says they are similar to some violent humans who were terrorizing this place a decade or so ago, but that this time they reek of a foul power and fragments of a powerful jewel."

Before anyone had a chance to respond to that, the barrier around them grew bright red and began pulsating. Opaaru spun around, his eyes going wide with alarm. The barrier seemed to ignite, burning with red flames as its revolving currents sped up.

"Oh no! Kiribitou!" the colt groaned in dismay.

The barrier dissolved as the smokeless fire dissipated, revealing Hiuchimaru. The hogosha youkai's eyes were red, a maddened, possessed red reminiscent of Kaijinbo when he was possessed by the spirit of the sword Tokijin.

The broadsword he carried was in his right hand, and its blade radiated a sickly red aura.

"_Mezame!_" Opaaru called frantically. "Father, don't let it do this! _ Mezame!_"

Inuyasha didn't waste any time in the dissolving of the barrier, and retrieved Tetsusaiga. The blade transformed the moment he touched its hilt, and he pointed it at Hiuchimaru. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, _ baka-uma_, but I've had enough."

"No, don't fight him!" Opaaru said desperately. "Not when he's being controled by Kiribitou! We have to break the trance!"

His words fell on deaf ears as Inuyasha and Hiuchimaru started circling each other like combatant wolves.

"Stop this! _Mezame_, Father! _Mezame_!"

"They can't hear you," Miroku said, putting a hand on Opaaru's shoulder. "But don't worry. Inuyasha won't kill your father unless he has no other choice."

"I'm not worried about Father being killed -- I'm more worried about Kiribitou starting a big forest-fire!"

"Kiribitou?" Sango asked. "What's that? You've said the name a few times now."

"Kiribitou is the demonblade Hiuchimaru carries. It's infused with the soul of a fire elemental, and when crossed with a blade of steel, it will ignite." Opaaru looked around. "Steel, steel..." His eyes lit on Sango's katana. "May I use that? There's only one way to break the trance if he can't hear me!"

Sango wordlessly drew the katana and held it out to the young demon. Opaaru took it reverently, bowed in thanks, and launched himself at his father. "_MEZAME!_" he screamed as he swung the katana with unexpected skill and slammed the blade against Kiribitou.

The force of the blast that erupted from the collision of the two blades sent Hiuchimaru flat onto his back and threw Opaaru across the clearing. Quick thinking on Shippo's part saved the uma-youkai youngster from a painful landing, as the kitsune transformed himself into his big, round balloon-like shape and cushioned the uma-youkai's momentum.

Hiuchimaru sat up slowly, shaking his head bewilderedly. His eyes were still red, but this time they were bloodshot, not possessed.

_There's something wrong with his eyes,_ Sango thought to herself. _ Some kind of irritant._

"Augh," the hogosha youkai groaned as he cradled his head in his hands. "Damned blade."

"What happened?" Kagome inquired.

"That damned inu-taiyoukai woke up Kiribitou, I think."

"I meant what happened to your eyes."

"Huh? Oh, that." Hiuchimaru stood up shakily, massaging his eyes wearily. "Nevermind."

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha snarled. "I smell his venom. You encountered Sesshomaru."

"Good nose, Captain Obvious," Hiuchimaru snapped peevishly as he picked up Kiribitou and sheathed it. "And he left me a nice little parting gift. Dammit! Just when I need him the most, Nijimaru is gone."

"Can you explain that sword?" Miroku approached the hogosha youkai. "It seems like a terribly dangerous liability, if it can possess you like that."

Hiuchimaru glanced briefly over his shoulder at the hilt of the sword. "Kiribitou is a demonblade, but not a standard one." He folded his arms into his sleeves. "It was originally forged by humans."

"How can that be?" Sango's jaw unhinged briefly. "A demonblade forged by a human smith?"

"Not exactly. First of all, it's not really a sword, in the sense of most swords. It used to be a sealing blade. It was created by a band of monks some six hundred years ago, for the purpose of sealing dangerous youkai. Because it's made of flint, it's impervious to fire and earth. Unfortunately, this sword was used to seal a particularly strong fire elemental youkai, and the sealing process was done with a slight flaw. Thus, the spirit of the elemental overran the blade and rendered it useless as a sealing weapon."

The same thought was dawning on both Sango and Miroku; "So that means that that sword..."

"...has some form of holy powers?"

Hiuchimaru shrugged; "I suppose you could say that, but I think it's more accurate to say that holy, spiritual powers have little effect on it. There is no way for the elemental to escape -- the incarcerating seal is absolute -- but because of that one tiny error in sealing, it was never fully pacified or subdued. Only someone with a very strong affinity to flint can maintain any sort of control over the demonblade that became of this combination, by reinforcing the flint's dominance. But all it takes is one tiny error in judgment, and the soul breaks through again, and seizes my entire body in its grasp."

"So why carry it at all, if it's that dangerous?"

"Because if I don't, there's no telling what it will do, what will happen. If it falls into the wrong hands, it could burn down every forest in all of Japan. In the six centuries since it was sealed, the elemental has become so hateful and vengeful that if it isn't subdued continuously, it will run rampant until all the world burns. It knows nothing but hatred for the outside world."

"So destroy the blade," Inuyasha said with a snort. "Problem solved."

"Easier said than done. Do you honestly think no one has thought of that, or tried it? The same goes for elaborate rituals to try and finish the sealing. It can't be done. The sword is too well-made and the elemental is too strong. The only answer is for me to keep it with me and to try to keep it under control."

Hiuchimaru paused a moment, and looked over at Inuyasha. "So, Inuyasha, I need some answers out of you. I believe we are both trailing the same quarry, and I should very much like to know what's going on to affect my forest. I imagine you seek some answers as well. Do we have an agreement?"

* * *

**Original Characters:  
Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru).**  
Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by the taijiya).**  
Himawari**: (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead**.  
Hiuchimaru**: (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) oldest son of Hiuchimaru**  
Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental**  
Garyuuken**: (no gender) the greatsword worn by the Inu no Taisho at the time of Kiraboshi's death. Destroyed prior to the forging of Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga**  
Kuukoku no Kiraboshi**: (female) the Inu no Kisaki, reigning inu-taiyoukai leader of the northern provinces. Mother of Sesshomaru. Deceased (killed by Ryukotsusei)**  
Eimaimatsu**: (male) demon tree in the Tsuki no Mori in Kiraboshi's territory; Kiraboshi's chief advisor. Deceased (killed by the blast from a Shikon shard).

**Vocabulary:  
**_mezame_: "awaken"  
_baka-uma_: "stupid horse" (pun on "bake-uma" - "spirit-horse")


	25. Part Twenty Five: Living For Tomorrow

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long delay, everyone. I got inspired to write my original-fiction work, and that will ALWAYS be top priority over fanfics. After all, I could conceivably get published someday (I can dream) with those, while fanfics can never be legally published. So, gomen-nasai for the long delay between chapters, but I hope this chapter makes up for it.

**Disclaimer: **Uh... I don't own Inuyasha, but you knew that.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Five: Living For Tomorrow**

Hiuchimaru retreated to the edge of the copse of trees, instructing his uma-youkai brethren and waiting for the group of humans to finish packing up their camp. He seemed unhurried, and frankly seemed like an altogether different youkai from before. Inuyasha was suspicious, but Miroku and Kagome seemed unconcerned. Opaaru was helping them pack up, a veritable fount of boundless youthful energy as he inspected their belongings with unbridled wonder. He seemed particularly attracted to Inuyasha, constantly asking the inu-hanyou strange questions that generally left the silver-haired half-demon speechless with confusion.

"I could really go for a nice bath right now," Kagome complained as she closed up her backpack. "I feel like I haven't bathed in a week!"

"I believe I have a solution," Hiuchimaru said from the edge of the clearing. "There is an onsen near where I wish to take you. If you'd like, we can stop there first."

"Really?" Kagome turned to face the hogosha-youkai and put on her best puppy-eyes face.

"No need to beg, priestess," the demon chuckled. "By the way, I don't believe you told me your name?"

"I'm Kagome. Kagome Higurashi."

He bowed slightly in acknowledgement. "The use of a surname is not common in this part of Japan. Where are you from?"

"Tokyo," she said without thinking, and almost kicked herself.

"Tokyo, huh? I don't recall hearing of it. But then again, I am not particularly current on human civilizations. Where is that near?"

"Uh, Edo."

"I see. Young lady, there is something unusual about you. A flow or a current that surrounds you, almost like a barrier of a kind. It's flexible, to some degree, but I can't quite identify it. Do you have any idea what it may be?"

Kagome felt her blood chill slightly. She'd heard something similar a few times before, usually in reference to the fact that she was from a different time era.

Hiuchimaru looked her over silently, then waved his hand dismissively; "If you're not comfortable talking about it, I won't grill you. Perhaps, though, you should meet with my mate. She has unusal vision and maybe she can help you. If you'd rather not, it's all the same to me." He looked over at Opaaru, who was being entertained by Shippo's shapeshifting. The colt looked so much like a human child rather than a horse-demon that it was uncanny, especially with his bright, open expression and joyous laughter. Hiuchimaru's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance

"Deplorable behavior, Opaaru," he said sharply. "Are you a foal or a stallion?"

"I'm neither, Father. I'm just a colt!" Opaaru laughed as he bowed respectfully to his sire. "That's what Mama calls me, you know."

"And are you a suckling or a weanling? Come along, boy, make yourself useful and clear the area. I need room." The demon strode purposefully to the center of the copse.

"What?" Kagome's jaw fell open a bit as Hiuchimaru's entire body became radiant, a faint blue umbra surrounding him.

"Everyone, to the trees. He needs lots of room. This is a tight copse, so get close to a tree," Opaaru announced, grabbing Inuyasha by an arm and pulling him toward the trees. Kagome, Miroku and Sango followed suit, leaving the clearing entirely empty.

Hiuchimaru called up a twin spiral of light from the ground. As the double-helix engulfed him, he disappeared. The helix widened until it nearly filled the clearing. Then suddenly it disappeared, leaving behind a tall, proud spirit-horse.

"Okay, everyone, pile on!" Opaaru said brightly. "This is the best way to travel through this forest. Hiuchimaru knows every corner and turn, and can travel at extremely high speeds. Last one on gets the rump!" With that, the colt darted across the clearing and leaped up into the air, somersaulting and landing squarely on the spirit-horse's shoulders. He was grace in flight while he jumped, his gangly coltish movements transformed into a fluidity of motion. Despite his youthful appearances, he was a very lithe, agile being.

Inuyasha scooped up Kagome into his arms, plucking Shippo from Miroku's shoulder, and with a great heave, he jumped up onto the spirit-horse's back. Miroku and Sango piled onto Kirara, who gave them a lift up to the horse's shoulders.

"Grab onto the mane," Opaaru instructed, directing them to grab onto a hank of the silver-flaxen hair. "He moves extremely swiftly, and if you aren't secured, you could get swept off by a branch."

Inuyasha was stubborn, but he wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, an idiot. While he didn't like to take orders or suggestions if he didn't have to, this was one of those times when it was not very wise to disregard the suggestion. Swallowing his pride and biting back on his masculine-protector tendencies, he gripped the horse's mane and dug into the copper hide with the claws on his feet. The big copper horse swung its head around and eyed him, blinking in annoyance, but otherwise didn't reply. Once everyone was settled into place (Shippo clung for dear life to the front of Kagome's shirt; Kirara, in her kitten form, curled up inside the front of Sango's yukata, causing an amusing weird bulge off the collarbone.) the horse rose into the air and, with a mighty thrust, propelled itself forward, accelerating rapidly into blinding speed, flashing through the forest, dodging the trees expertly. Kagome yelped in surprise, letting go of the mane and flinging her arms around Inuyasha in her panic. The hanyou grunted and put an arm around her to steady her, gripping the horse's mane tightly in his left hand as he did so.

"I hate rollercoasters!" Kagome moaned wretchedly.

Opaaru was laughing merrily, enjoying the ride. He was entirely unpretentious and openly jubilant with living. Kagome just groaned and clung to Inuyasha for dear life. Sango and Miroku also, much more serepitiously, maintained contact with the inu-hanyou, taking comfort in his strength. As they raced through the forest interior, the scent of the distant onsen tickled the inside of Inuyasha's nose. The place was rife with the smell of uma-youkai, like it was a location they frequented regularly.

"Okay, hang on, we're going up!" Opaaru said brightly, as their ride banked sharply upward, taking them up through the canopy like an arrow. As they burst into the late afternoon sunlight, the giant spirit horse began to slow down by dipping his left shoulder and proceeding to circle around a rocky clearing. As his momentum wicked away, the rocky clearing proved to be the onsen itself, a small but beautiful little mineral hotspring.

"He's doing this because if he were to stop suddenly, he'd throw you all right into the trees. He's used to giving others a ride. He does so for myself, Auntie, Mama and little Mimiko all the time."

As they slowed, they spied another youkai already at the onsen, looking up at them expectantly. Opaaru made a greeting gesture and leaped off of Hiuchimaru, somersaulting to the ground and landing with rather more aplomb than was strictly necessary.

_You may dismount now_, Hiuchimaru transmitted to them. _I have slowed down enough for you to dismount._

Inuyasha positioned Kagome on his back, and looped his arms over Sango and Miroku, strapping them to his sides. He coiled his legs underneath him and launched. As he landed, he accidentally dropped Miroku, sending the monk sprawling into the dirt.

"Nice landing," Opaaru said with a grin. "I don't imagine the ground tastes very good, though."

"No," Miroku said genially, "it doesn't. But I'm alright."

"Welcome back, Flint," the female uma-youkai said with a smirk as she looked up at the glowing form of Hiuchimaru, who in the processes of transforming back to his usual form. The youkai was crouched before a small campfire, with an unusual stone pot over the fire, as if cooking something. Kagome recognized the smell, but couldn't quite name it... it reminded her of something Western, not indigenous to Japan...

"This must be Hiuchimaru's mate," Kagome said softly. Inuyasha just grunted, choosing to neither agree nor disagree. Something about this youkai didn't ring true as the mate of a hogosha-youkai like Hiuchimaru.

The female youkai was far from pretty. She had a long horse-like humanoid face, with wide-set eyes that gave her a disturbingly inhuman expression. Her ears were much longer and more pointed than either Opaaru's or Hiuchimaru's, and she had far more movement ability with them; rather like Inuyasha's dog ears, she could twitch her ears to indicate thought, most likely. Her countenance was dry and slightly bitter. Her hair was a dark, dark brown and fell from her head in messy spirals. Her wide mouth was curled into a wry smirk.

"Well, well, Flint, what have you brought us? A monk, a hanyou and a pair of human women, eh? Welcome to the Forest of Eternity," she said. Her voice, in contrast to her looks, was musical and very beautiful. "You amuse me, Flint."

"Indeed," Hiuchimaru said as he emerged from the flames of his transformation, straightening his haori. He seemed entirely unamused by the female. "I live to amuse you, after all, Koe."

"Now now, Father, Auntie Koe, no fair fighting. We have guests," Opaaru said with a bright smile. "Auntie, where's Mama?"

"Mmm, good question," the female named Koe said. "She should be back any time. She went to get some more food from the villagers, I think."

"Did she take Mimiko with her?" Hiuchimaru asked sharply.

"Of course not. She left the foal with me, of course." Koe gestured over to a small nest-like structure, where a toddler sat up, blinking sleepily. Opaaru crouched down before the toddler and fondly tousled its hair.

Inuyasha stiffened abruptly upon seeing the tiny child. As Opaaru picked the toddler up, it was clear that this was a little girl, and that she was unlike the others around her. She had a very human face, though her eyes were set wide apart, but she had horse ears on top of her head, much like Inuyasha's dog ears were for him.

"She's cute!" Kagome said as she chucked the little girl under the chin.

"This is my little sister Mimiko," Opaaru said proudly, while little Mimiko giggled and waved her arms flirtatiously at Kagome.

"Half-sister, you little baka," Koe said acridly.

"Not that it matters," Hiuchimaru replied with a cold stare at the horse-faced woman. "Speaking of which, you're the half-sister of his mother, so it doesn't matter either. I don't see you producing any offspring anyway."

"Flint!" a voice called joyously from the trees. Hiuchimaru turned in the direction of the voice, just as a woman burst out of the underbrush and threw herself at him, flinging her arms around him and planting a firm kiss on his mouth. However, the momentum caught him off guard and sent both of them splashing into one of the hot-springs. Opaaru snerked with laughter and shook his head. "Mama is dramatic, there's no two ways about it."

"What the..." Miroku's face fell into a completely befuddled expression, which Sango found inappropriately hilarious.

"You idiot," Koe muttered as she stood at the edge of the spring and planted her hands on her hips. "Both of you, actually. A pair of idiots, I swear. Come out of there and dry off! Besides, Ashita, it appears that Flint has brought you a present."

"Huh?" Hiuchimaru said as he swept his wet chestnut hair out of his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"The monk."

"What?" the new arrival asked as she parted her ebony mane of hair and started methodically wringing it out. Koe stooped to offer her a hand, pointedly ignoring Hiuchimaru, who climbed out of the spring shaking his hair and wringing his clothing out.

"Don't get any stupid ideas, Koe," the hogosha-youkai said coldly. "I brought them here because I wish to discuss things with them. And you, Ashita, likewise: don't get any stupid ideas."

The woman, Ashita, looked put out. "I'm appalled you think so of me. Here I've been waiting for you, and this is how you greet me? Flint, I'm ashamed! I was worried about you! I haven't been able to _See_ you for a long time; every time you leave my side, I fear I'll never find you again!"

Hiuchimaru sighed heftily. "Not this again, Ashita. You're the daughter of my predecessor; if he knew how weak you've become with this irrational fear, I'm sure he'd cry tears of shame."

"Irrational fear!" Ashita looked shocked. "You think my fear of you dying is irrational? Look at you!"

Kagome turned quizzically to Opaaru. The young colt shrugged; "Mama has a form of foresight. That's why she's called Ashita. She can _See_ into the near future, up to two days in advance, but only selectively. She panics when she can't _See_ Father, because she fears that means he's either dead or will be dead soon. And lately whenever she tries to _See_ him, she can't."

Inuyasha approached the colt, his eyes set in cold fury and his mouth twisted into a snarl. "Why do you associate with that?" he pointed savagely at the child in Opaaru's arms. "That is a hanyou. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Ashita squawked in alarm and leaped forward, getting between Inuyasha and her children. "What do you want? Why do you care if my daughter is a hanyou? You're a hanyou yourself!"

There was the scraping _shing!_ of a sword being drawn as Hiuchimaru stepped forward, Kiribitou in hand. "You lay one finger on my daughter and I will kill you where you stand." Ashita snatched Mimiko from Opaaru's arms, then seized the colt's arm and dragged him along behind her as she ran to hide behind her mate. Hiuchimaru's countenance was beyond menacing now. He was furious.

"She's not your daughter," Inuyasha snarled. "You can't be her sire, so she's not your daughter. Why do you protect her?"

"She _is_ my daughter, because I have adopted her as such. Who are you to dictate who I call family, you lousy transient nobody half-breed?" Kiribitou began to glow a sickly red shade, and flames began to sparkle along the sharp dual edges of the sword.

"Why do you adopt a child that is not your own?"

"She belongs to my mate. My mate is my family. Thus, I have a duty to protect and raise this hanyou girl to the best of my abilities. She may serve me well as she grows anyway. _How dare you_ insinuate that I, who have specifically bred this half-demon half-human child, would forsake her just because of her parentage, when I myself was the reason for her parentage!" This time the horse demon was hostile and ready to attack with everything he had in his arsenal. He wasn't going to back down or submit. "You may provide valuable information as to the fate of my father and youngest sister, but _I WILL NOT_ allow you to bring harm to my current family!"

The vehemence in his words was the last thing Inuyasha expected, and he lowered his hands, holding them out in a submissive gesture.

"What do you mean, you are the reason for the girl's parentage?" Miroku asked gently, trying to soothe the hostility.

Koe spoke; "I am called Koe because of my voice. I can speak to souls in other dimensions or long distances away... but I cannot hear them. We used to combine my voice with the hearing of a demon named Mimiseri, but he has since gone into hiding. I used to be able to _Speak_ to the dead... but now I don't know if my voice reaches them because I can't hear them. Ashita has this inexplicable ability to amplify a mate's talents in her offspring. She has produced before, and so far all of her children exhibit their fathers' abilities. And when Mimiseri went into hiding, was about the time that Himawari, who is Flint's oldest sister, first started hearing rumors that their other sister, Midoriko, was dead. Flint has been concerned about his sisters for a long time, and has wanted to know where Midoriko is."

"His sister is named Midoriko?" Sango asked, slightly alarmed.

"She is," Hiuchimaru said as he sheathed Kiribitou and put one arm around Ashita, and his other arm around Opaaru. "She was named for someone my father knew and greatly respected. Without Mimiseri, I had no way of knowing what has happened to my sister, and I was getting desperate. Nijimaru suggested using Ashita and breeding a replacement.

"We found a monk who has some level of clairaudience. So Koe used her voice to lull him into a hypnotic state and Ashita bred with him. We're sure that Mimiko has highly developed hearing; we just hope it's enough to serve us. But even if she doesn't, she's my responsibility, and I will care for her as I am able. I don't care what most demons think of hanyou; she's part of my family herd and I will do my best to protect and raise her."

"Can you tell us more about this Midoriko for which your sister was named?"

"I think you already know about her," Hiuchimaru said mirthlessly. "You are from the taijiya village where her remains are kept. She was the priestess who purified and nullified dangerous demons. She was an ally of Nijimaru's and helped him keep humans away from his forest. He regarded her very, very highly, and when she died, he became very bitter towards humans, believing that her death was because the humans nearest her didn't bother to help her. They left her to fight the demons herself, and she ran out of energy and was forced to produce the Shikon no Tama as she died."

"So..." Miroku said, the answer dawning on him, "That's why he hated the Shikon no Tama so much! Because he knew quite intimately the circumstances surrounding its creation, and knew that it was created because the woman he admired was allowed to exhaust herself."

Hiuchimaru shrugged and looked over his shoulder. "Why don't we continue this conversation once you all have had some time in the hot-springs and had something to eat. I think the food is about finished cooking, isn't it, Koe?"

"Aye, I do believe so."

* * *

**Original Characters:  
Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru).**  
Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by the taijiya).**  
Himawari**: (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead**.  
Hiuchimaru**: (born Hai'iro) (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) oldest son of Hiuchimaru**  
Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental**  
Garyuuken**: (no gender) the greatsword worn by the Inu no Taisho at the time of Kiraboshi's death. Destroyed prior to the forging of Tetsusaiga and Tenseiga**  
Kuukoku no Kiraboshi**: (female) the Inu no Kisaki, reigning inu-taiyoukai leader of the northern provinces. Mother of Sesshomaru. Deceased (killed by Ryukotsusei)**  
Eimaimatsu**: (male) demon tree in the Tsuki no Mori in Kiraboshi's territory; Kiraboshi's chief advisor. Deceased (killed by the blast from a Shikon shard).  
**Ashita** (born Kuronin) (female): hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous Guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance  
**Koe** (female): half-sister of Ashita (they share the same mother); she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods  
**Mimiko** (female): hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru

**Vocabulary**:  
ashita - tomorrow; the near future  
hai'iro - gray color  
koe - voice  
kuro - black  
mimi - ear(s)  
nin - human


	26. Part Twenty Six: Lonely as the Moon

**Author's Note: **Hmm. Picking up speed as we near the finale. I plan on ending at chapter 30. I adore this story, but it's pretty much run its course, so I think I'll be wrapping it up. The next few chapters will probably be short because I'm stubbornly set on ending on chapter 30. There may or may not be an epilogue, and if there is, it won't be your usual epilogue. (wink).

**Disclaimer: **I am aware that there is some confusion as to what Hiuchimaru looks like. I had two separate models of him in mind when I started using him, and I've accidentally oscillated between the two. In the artwork of him with Ashita and Opaaru (posted at DeviantArt) I used the earlier version of him, while in his introduction and further use, I used the revise model of him. Thus, please don't take the artwork literally. I made a mistake on his skin tone and hair color. My bad.

**Note:** I usually post up-to-date news regarding my popular stories on my FF-net profile page. If you're interested in knowing what's going on with the story and when I plan to have the next chapter done, check my author-profile page to see.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Six: Lonely as the Moon**

After a nice, relaxing bath, the group lounged by the fireside and ate a simple meal of rice and stewed vegetables. The vegetables were stewed in an untraditional combination of spices, more commonly used in western meat stews, which would account for the western flavoring Kagome had smelled earlier. Hiuchimaru didn't touch the food at all, and it was unclear as to whether he was simply not hungry, or uncomfortable in the company of others. However, Inuyasha and the others didn't pay it much thought before tucking in to a very filling meal that made up for their loss of supplies since the run-in with Renkotsu.

After everyone had eaten their fill, fatigue finally caught up with Inuyasha, who had been running on adrenaline and little other sustenance. He'd been unable to rest up completely after the run-ins with Mukotsu and Ginkotsu, and there was something about this area that just sapped his demonic energy...

Curiously, Hiuchimaru also appeared to be quite enervated. After several minutes of silently patrolling the perimeters, he finally came over to the group and sat down beside Ashita. Then, without a word, he simply stretched out, laying his head in her lap and closing his eyes. Ashita began grooming his flaxen hair with her fingernails, meticulously working tangles and knots out. She looked down at him with the most tender, affectionate gaze Kagome had ever seen between two youkai. Yet, Ashita's soft, loving glance still held a silent hint of sorrow. Almost as though Ashita felt she was in love alone, as though she feared Hiuchimaru did not reciprocate her affections. It made Kagome's heart ache in sympathy.

"Your daughter is very quiet," Miroku observed benignly as Mimiko crawled up onto Hiuchimaru's chest and sat there, looking proud of herself. Her ears twitched constantly, like tiny satellite dishes, focusing on whoever was speaking at present.

"Indeed," Hiuchimaru said blandly without opening his eyes. "I've not heard a word out of her since she was born. I am beginning to doubt she has a voice. I suppose it makes sense; the monk who sired her had taken a vow of silence. If I recall correctly, he wanted to cut down on interfering noise in order to better achieve enlightenment. His lack of voice probably transferred over to Mimiko. A shame, really. Quite the unexpected conundrum."

Ashita tapped his forehead irritably; "Don't talk like that, Flint. She has a voice and she can communicate; she just doesn't speak in words."

He squinted up at her mirthlessly; "Oh? And I suppose there are other ways to speak than in words? She'll be able to hear voices from long distances away, but won't be able to convey their meaning if she can't use words."

"So we'll teach her how to write. Don't worry so much!"

"Humph," Hiuchimaru grunted as he closed his eyes again. "Whatever."

Kagome frowned to herself as she saw the wave of pain flicker momentarily through Ashita's beautiful black-brown eyes. _He doesn't exactly treat her like he cares much about her. But, I wonder why he bothers to consider her his mate if he doesn't love her?_

Sango looked up at the late afternoon sky. "Hiuchimaru, I have a question for you."

"Do you now. "

"Do you know what happened to your sister Kiniromaru?"

"Kiniro...maru? Oh, so she did change her name, did she? I guess the trees were right after all. Huh." He chuckled dryly. "Father always did say Kiniroko was quite the tomboy. I barely knew her, however. I was called to the Eien no Mori when Kiniroko was just a tiny foal. Most of what I know about her is through the information network of demon-trees, and they aren't always the most reliable when it comes to veracity." He absentmindedly flicked an insect away from Mimiko's hair. The toddler bounced a bit on his chest, prompting him to cock an eye at her. "'ey, kouma, hold still! Don't move around so much!"

"So, do you know what happened to her?" Sango pressed. Miroku's forehead wrinkled slightly as he tried to figure out what the exterminator was doing, though Kagome had a pretty good idea already.

"I wasn't finished. Give me a moment to recall what I can about her, I haven't thought much on her in a while. Let me think... I know that Mother was extremely overprotective of Kiniroko because she was very undersized when she was born, despite the fact that Mother carried her for more than a full term. She was a surviving twin, we think. It happens. Mother liked to name her children after colors that were apparent from the beginning. Thus she chose Kiniroko's name. If I remember correctly, she had a golden hue to her skin tone, and her eyes were like amber.

"As for her temperament, I know nothing firsthand. Like I said, she was still very young, not much older than Mimiko is now when I was called away to the forest. Nijimaru visited me occasionally, but he always came alone; he left the forest in her care, as it were."

"Why didn't you ever go visit him?" Miroku asked.

Hiuchimaru opened one eye and appraised the monk silently. "I can't leave this forest. It won't let me."

The complete flatness of the reply startled Miroku into silence. There was much more to the story than those two sentences, but it was also quite clear that Hiuchimaru had no intentions of relaying that information just yet.

"Anyway, I know that she was about Opaaru's age when Mother was killed. Father took her under his proverbial wing and taught her what he could. I always got the feeling that he had particularly high hopes for her.

"Rumors have it that Kiniroko took over leadership of a small herd of uma-youkai at the heart of Nijimaru's forest. Then, when Nijimaru abruptly died, Kiniroko disappeared. The word is that she is dead, but it took several months for the trees to start agreeing on that."

"So you don't know how she died, then."

"I don't _know_, no. I only suspect. In fact, that's the first I've heard of an outsider confirming it. Even Himawari couldn't confirm it."

Sango let out a heavy sigh. "What will you do when you learn who caused her death?"

"Hard to say. Why do you care?"

"Are you going to seek revenge?"

"Revenge?" He snorted. "You didn't know Nijimaru as well as you let on to have known, if you think I care much for vengeance. That was one thing he was very adamant about, in all his teachings. Revenge is a cold bed. If you make revenge your only goal, you will feel empty and cheated in the end. _'There is no shame in revenge, but neither is there honor. Exacting revenge does not revive the fallen, and the dead do not wish for vengeance to be served.' _Therefore, I will not seek vengeance for her death, unless her spirit demands it of me. But why do you care if I do?"

"Because I'm the one who struck the killing blow," Inuyasha interrupted. "Therefore, if you seek vengeance, you seek it against me."

A complete silence befell the camp.

"Well, now, that's a nice, ironic little twist to the story, isn't it?" Koe said dryly.

"Would you mind explaining to me what happened?" Hiuchimaru said finally, his voice surprisingly resigned. "I should like to hear the entire story; otherwise, I have no choice but to judge you on the fact that you killed my younger sister."

Kagome took up the narration; "First of all, Kiniromaru asked him to do it; I tried to stop him, but it was too late. She was suffering so badly. You see..." she paused. "Did you know about the Shikon fragment that got lodged in Nijimaru's heart?"

"Huh? No. Are you sure about that?"

"Absolutely. He even told us as much," Miroku said. "It was after he'd died -- his soul couldn't cross over yet because of the fragment. But he did verify it."

"You'll have to explain that to me, because as far as I know, Father hated the Shikon no Tama. First things first, though," he motioned to Kagome, "please continue."

Kagome took a deep breath and launched an abbreviated account of their original journey through the Niji no Mori, including Kiniromaru's fight with Sesshomaru and how it resulted, ultimately, in Nijimaru's death. Hiuchimaru's face remained frozen in impassivity throughout the narration, though the mention of Sesshomaru caused his eyebrows to twitch in something akin to irritation.

"That wasn't the end of it, though that's probably where she went missing," Kagome said. "She was mortally wounded, but a minion of our enemy Naraku planted a couple of Shikon shards in her to keep her alive and to make her do his will. She came to blame Inuyasha for her problems, saying if he hadn't interfered, Nijimaru wouldn't have died. Apparently she didn't know about the Shikon shards implanted in her heart, and spent an entire month stewing on her hatred of Inuyasha."

Ashita made a distressed noise at that, both her hands coming to rest on Hiuchimaru's forehead, her fingers brushing against the star on his brow. "The poor thing... I hope she has found peace..."

Kagome nodded. "I think she has. But that's getting ahead in the story. She attacked us just outside the taijiya village. She was really proficient with a spear -- "

"Pike," Hiuchimaru correctly. "She didn't use a spear, she used a pike. They are much larger and harder to handle, and do much more damage. I remember Father telling me that she'd nearly mastered using one, which was unusual for forest uma-youkai."

"Well, whatever," Kagome said with a wave of her hand, annoyed at the interruption. "She and Inuyasha went around a few times and beat on each other, and eventually she got worn out, so we took her with us to the taijiya village to try and see if we could heal her."

Hiuchimaru snorted in disbelief and sat up partially, sending Mimiko tumbling off his chest in surprise. Koe scooped up her niece and gave Hiuchimaru a dirty look, which he pointedly ignored as he turned to regard Kagome incredulously; "You _took_ her to _that village_? Geez, of all places!"

"We didn't know about the death of your mother at the time," Miroku pointed out. "How were we to know? The taijiya village was deserted -- you've heard about what happened to them, haven't you?"

"Rumors, yes. Supposedly they were betrayed and wiped out."

Sango looked stricken but nodded. "That's pretty much what happened."

"You're from there, though, I presume. Your boomerang is from there, at least."

Sango merely nodded, unable to speak due to the lump that had formed in her throat. Shippo and Kirara, both sitting next to her, looked up at her and crawled into her lap simultaneously, trying to comfort her. Hiuchimaru laid back down, and Ashita resumed combing her fingers through his hair.

Kagome finished the story, explaining how she had purified the jewel shards in Kiniromaru, trying to help the mare to heal, but eventually Kiniromaru decided she'd had enough and had asked that they destroy her. She decided to leave out the extra information that Kiniromaru had given them regarding the nature of the jewel shards.

Miroku picked up the story afterwards, detailing how he and Inuyasha met Nijimaru's remaining spirit in the Tsuki no Mori and how the hogosha-taiyoukai had been imprisoned in the jewel shard. The monk also chose to omit some information, namely the events surrounding the death of the demon-tree Eimaimatsu.

Hiuchimaru seemed to ease up after hearing the whole story. After Kagome finished telling the story, Ashita commented softly that she couldn't imagine what kind of pain Kiniromaru must have suffered, to be reduced to such a specter.

"Father did mention once that he thought that Kiniroko was tough as adamant," Hiuchimaru mused quietly. "I don't think even I could have suffered through all of that."

Koe snorted. "Well, no, considering how weak you are, Flint, I imagine not."

"Shut it, Koe," Hiuchimaru snapped irritably. "I'm really not in the mood for this."

"To think, the hanyou who killed your sister also kicked your ass," Koe snickered. "Your father must be hanging his head in shame."

"If I recall correctly, it was the monk who 'kicked my ass' as you say it. I'm still feeling the effects of that damned sutra."

Miroku chuckled; "Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize. You probably thought I was going to kill you."

"You mean you weren't?" Shippo asked, surprised.

"Of course not. My job isn't necessarily to kill, only to drive out."

"That's funny," Inuyasha snorted, not amused in the slightest, "because I recall you saying that intruders are eliminated or something like that."

"Which is what I usually say," Hiuchimaru responded. "But if you leave my forest, I don't follow you and keep trying to fight you. I only kill those who are a threat to the forest and refuse to leave. And I left you a very obvious escape route. Had I really wanted you all dead, you'd be dead. I was trying to drive you out. It's a lot easier that way. When you kill something, you have to dispose of the body. If you drive it out of your territory, there's no disposal necessary."

"How pragmatic," Sango said dryly.

There was a moment of silence in which Mimiko's ears swiveled around and Hiuchimaru's eyebrows twitched. "And thus ends my moment of rest. I have a job to do. Koe, I'll need your assistance, since that fire breather is back in the forest again. I want it to leave the forest as peacefully as necessary."

He rose from his recumbent position in one fluid motion, hitched Kiribitou up onto his shoulder and took a few steps back from the group. Koe sighed and deposited Mimiko in her sister's lap. "All right. I suppose it's a small price to pay for Ashita's peace of mind, if I keep an eye on you and make sure you come back in one piece."

"Keep talking, Koe, it's about all you're good at." Hiuchimaru said irritably as he shed the haori and strapped Kiribitou to his back. He looked down at his son. "Opaaru, I leave everything your hands. No mistakes, kouma," he held up a hand and wagged a finger at Opaaru. "You'll be answering to me if you screw up protecting your sister and mother."

Opaaru grinned and stuck his tongue out. "I can handle it, Father. No worries!"

"I'm counting on that," Hiuchimaru said, patting Opaaru on the head and messing up his hair slightly. Then he turned and exploded into motion. He darted to the center of the clearing, banking off the rocks at the center of the hot springs and launching directly skyward. At the top of his arc, he executed a complex somersault, transforming to his spirit-horse form in midair.

Koe put her hands on her hips. "I shouldn't go with you, since you just keep insulting me."

"Just go with him," Ashita said wearily. "I'll feel better knowing you're with him. Please, Koe?"

"Fine, I'll do it for you, nee-chan," Koe said finally. Then she burst into motion, sprinting to the rocks and using them to launch upward, landing on the great spirit-horse's shoulders. The horse rose up and moved away into the forest.

"Mama?" Opaaru looked over at his mother. "Are you okay?"

"I just don't like it when he leaves me," Ashita said finally. She appeared to have lost the luster in her sparkling personality. She just seemed really sad now. It made Kagome's heart ache even more to see such sadness. "I'm always afraid he'll never come back."

"Father isn't that easy to defeat, Mama," Opaaru said as he collected Mimiko from Ashita's arms. "Forest guardians have the forest's power behind them."

"Forest guardians of the Eien no Mori also don't live very long," Ashita looked up at her son and daughter. Her eyes seemed empty. "This forest is very hard on its guardians."

"He mentioned he can't leave the forest..." Miroku said gently. "What did he mean by that? Nijimaru could leave his forest."

"Most forest guardians can leave the boundaries of their forests temporarily. But not this forest. It's because of that nexus of power under White Soul Mountain."

"Nexus of power?"

"White Soul Mountain?"

Ashita looked over at Kagome and Miroku, "You don't know about it? There's a mountain on the northern edge of this forest, with a strange nexus of power beneath it. Flint said that the nexus is strong enough that it cowed even Nijimaru in his prime."

Inuyasha stood up abruptly, his ears cocked.

"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Miroku inquired.

"I... don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

Mimiko struggled out of Opaaru's arms, scrambling in the dirt toward her mother.

Kagome suddenly could have sworn she heard the sound of a bow being nocked with an arrow... and suddenly, almost as if it were premonition, she knew what was going on, when the both half-demons with sensitive hearing felt so unnerved.

_Twang!_ the sound of the bowstring releasing the arrow --

"_Ashita! Look out!_" Kagome screamed, just a moment too late...

* * *

**Original Characters:  
Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru).**  
Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by the taijiya).**  
Himawari** (born Hanako): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature, and often serves as a messenger of sorts.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead**.  
Hiuchimaru** (born Hai'iro): (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) juvenile uma-youkai; son of Hiuchimaru and Ashita. The only offspring of Hiuchimaru.**  
Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental  
**Ashita** (born Moriko): (female) hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous Guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance  
**Koe** (born Manatsu): (female) half-sister of Ashita (they share the same mother); she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods  
**Mimiko**: (female) hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru 

**Vocabulary:  
**ashita - "tomorrow" or the near future  
hai'iro - "gray color"  
hana - "flower"  
himawari - "sunflower"  
hiuchi - "flint"  
kin'iro - "golden color"  
-ko - (feminine suffix)  
koe - "voice"  
kouma - "colt" or "filly" (basically, baby horse)  
-maru - "circle" (also, a masculine suffix)  
midori - "green color"  
mimi - "ear(s)"  
mori - "forest"  
nee-chan - "older sister (familiar; used to address)"  
niji - "rainbow"  
taijiya - "demon exterminator" (roughly)


	27. Part Twenty Seven: Catastrophe

**Author's Note: **Short chapter, I know. But crucial and setting up for the final three chapters. Also, just a quick reminder that this is based on the dub, except for "Soul Scattering Iron Claws" because I hate the dub's "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer" translation of "Sankon Tessou"

**Disclaimer: **Of course Inuyasha and company don't belong to me. I'm not _that_ clever. But I can claim Hiuchimaru and company... sorta. XP I mean, they're my characters, just set in the world of a preset creation by the incomparable Takahashi-sensei.

**Soundtrack**: (aka the stuff I listened to while writing this chapter) I used the five Inuyasha character singles I have to keep my mind focused on the anime at hand. Thus, this chapter's soundtrack consists of "Aoki Yasei wo Daite," "Gou," "Kaze no Naka e," "Rakujitsu," and "Abarero!"

**Note**: I usually post up-to-date news regarding my popular stories on my FF-net profile page. If you're interested in knowing what's going on with the story and when I plan to have the next chapter done, check my author-profile page to see.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Seven: Catastrophe**

Kagome had thought she'd seen everything here in the Warring States era. In the span of only a few months or so (though it felt like years) she'd gone from being a naive, sheltered middle-schooler who was only average at sports and physical activities and only slightly above-average at other aspects of schooling, to a well-travelled, problem-solving teenager with a knack for bandaging injuries and an improving aim with a bow and arrow. She'd seen the gruesome remains of a battle gone horribly wrong, and she'd faced down demons capable of obliterating huge swaths of land with just one blow. Granted, she'd done so with the knowledge that she had at her back the skills of a fully-trained demon exterminator, a well-informed and widely-travelled Buddhist monk with weapons of his own, an untamed but like-minded human-demon hybrid with unimagineable potential and speed matched only by full demons, and the assistance of a pair of full-blooded youkai with transformation and flight capabilities. Anyone could feel brave enough to stand up to something like Naraku or Sesshomaru when backed by that much support. But she prided herself on her own courage anyway.

She'd never felt so helpless as when she saw the arrow hurtle out of the trees and impale itself almost to the fletching in Ashita's chest. Not even when she'd been trapped in Mukotsu's cabin, barely able to breathe and running out of ideas, watching Sango and Miroku crumple under the weight of the airborne poison, not even then had she felt so utterly helpless, because she'd believed somehow that Inuyasha would rescue them. But now, as if in slow motion, she watched the arrow burst from the underbrush, cross the clearing in an eyeblink and strike home, hitting Ashita quite squarely in the heart. Ashita made hardly any noise as she toppled over sideways, her eyes wide and frozen in a look of confusion. Kagome had felt drawn to Ashita's internal pain, sensing that this youkai -- who seemed so human, when you looked at her -- was kind-hearted and inherently good. Somehow, too, the fact that Hiuchimaru had told Opaaru specifically to protect his mother and sister had indicated to her that although he may not reciprocate Ashita's feelings, she was still very important to him... and being that the last thing they'd told him about had been how his younger sister had died at Inuyasha's hands, Kagome couldn't help but fear that the knowledge that his mate had died while the rest of them just stood there looking on would drive him to retaliate violently at them. He was far more likely to take his anger out on these guests than he was to take it out on the son who was far too young to adequately protect Ashita against an attack like this.

Opaaru shrieked in horror a split second after the arrow struck home and dove towards his mother.

No sooner did Ashita hit the ground, apparently dead on impact, than from all around the perimeter of the clearing, the underbrush heaved violently and belched forth a herd of angry, berserk uma-youkai fighters, weapons in hand and murder in their eyes. A few were mounted on horses, but not all. Most had left their horses in the forest, to allow freer movement in a tight space.

Inuyasha swept Kagome up into his arms and fluidly transferred her to his back, using his claws to scatter the uma-youkai near him.

"Kill the aberration!" yelled one of the leaders, pointing to where Mimiko had frozen in fear and horror, dropping into a ball rather like a potato-bug. "Eliminate both of those halfbreed aberrations and get rid of those ugly humans while you're at it!"

Several of the archers archers took aim at Mimiko with their bows. Sango let out a feral shout of fury and hurled Hiraikotsu with adrenaline-charged accuracy. The giant boomerang implanted itself in the earth right in front of the youngster, serving as a shield against the arrows. Kirara transformed into her large size in a split second and leapt through the air to land directly over the toddler, snarling at the uma-youkai who approached her.

Inuyasha backflipped away from a group of uma-youkai who brandished katanas against him. It was too tight of quarters for him to properly use Tetsusaiga; because of the close-quarters, it was likely that any attack he executed would hit someone he didn't want it to hit. So he relied on his claws to speak for him. Kagome could only cling to his back and try not to impede his movements, seeing as she didn't have her own bow and arrow near at hand; she wasn't able to fight without them, because there was no way she could fight these guys hand-to-hand.

Miroku had taken up a stance over Ashita, parrying the swords with his staff and slamming neutralizing sutras on any youkai that dared get too close to him physically. Sango and Kirara defended Mimiko from the sword and knives of the uma-youkai on that side of the clearing.

Curiously, it appeared that the archers didn't have many arrows, so their supply was already exhausted. They hadn't expected this much resistence, apparently. Kagome only wished she could somehow grab a bow from one of them and then grab an arrow stuck in Hiraikotsu or something, so that she would have a weapon. But she didn't want to unbalance Inuyasha by tossing her weight sideways, and given that it was all he could do to keep out of range of some of their weapons, she elected to hang on and hope that Hiuchimaru would return quickly.

_Dammit! He may not be back for quite a while; there's no way for us to contact him, since he took Koe with him!_

The leader of the attackers had Opaaru pinned in a kneeling position, his arms pinned behind him. "Don't move, little colt, or you'll suffer the same fate as that little freak."

"You let go of me," Opaaru growled deep in his throat. "I won't let you hurt Mimiko and I'll make you pay for killing my mama!"

The leader brandished his long knife and held it against Opaaru's jugular. "Say that again, brat. I dare you."

"**FOX MAGIC! SMASHING TOP!**" Shippo threw one of his tops, tagged with a kitsune spell, and nailed the uma-youkai leader right on top of his head. (Kagome was distinctly reminded of the move that had nearly defeated Manten, before the spell had been broken prematurely by Myoga pointing out its weakness.)

Inuyasha took advantage of the diversion Shippo had created and clenched his left fist tightly, digging his claws directly into his palms, drawing blood. Then he let fly with "**BLADES OF BLOOD!**" and sent several uma-youkai and a couple of their horses to the ground in pain.

As if on cue, Kirara launched up off the ground with Sango aboard. Sango carried the frightened Mimiko cradled in her left arm, while she hoisted Hiraikotsu into position with her right hand. Miroku fired off a fan-pattern of sutras that pushed the youkai near him away.

Kagome had to admit that the timing of these actions couldn't have been better had they practiced them and choreographed it all. _We make quite a team. I just wish I could do something to help them! I feel like a fifth wheel here!_

Opaaru managed to struggle free of his captor's grasp and he tumbled off to the side, rolling up onto his feet. His blue-black eyes burned red with hatred and fury.

"What the hell do you bastards want anyway?" He demanded, his voice unexpectedly forceful with his anger and grief.

"We're just going to purge this forest of the shameful stains it has acquired," the leader said.

"How could you betray Hiuchimaru like this, Hekigyoku? _My father trusted you!_"

"Your father was blinded by his affections for his weakling sire, and he allowed-- nay, _encouraged_--his mate to breed with a human and create a creature that should not be allowed to live, a creature that does not deserve to live! For this, we must execute the aberration itself, as well as the foolish mare who would protect it. And you, you have sealed your own death with your resistence."

"I don't fucking think so, asshole!" Inuyasha snarled. "**SOUL SCATTERING IRON CLAWS!**"

The youkai just managed to sidestep it and turned his hateful eyes on the inu-hanyou. He raised a hand and pointed at Inuyasha; "You're next, you freak of nature. After the other freak and its protectors, you're next."

"I won't let you," Opaaru fumed. "You killed my mama, and for that... **_I'LL KILL YOU!_**" As he spoke those last three words, a geyser of air spouted up around him.

"What the..." Kagome squeezed Inuyasha's shoulders. "What's he doing?"

"I dunno," Inuyasha said, landing nearby Miroku and Ashita, "but I have a suspicion he's changing form."

"Maybe he's like his father but too young to control the transformations," Miroku said. "Kiniromaru couldn't control when her transformations happened. Maybe he's the same way."

As if to accentuate the monk's words, a burst of rainbow light flared from where Opaaru stood, and the young uma-youkai shapeshifted into a giant spirit-horse. Not anywhere near as large as his father, aunt or grandfather's forms had been, but large enough to be formidable, even though his appearance was more proportionate to a yearling than an adult horse.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome spied a white figure, almost apparition-like, moving along the boundaries of the clearing, just behind the attack leader, Hekigyoku. It disappeared a moment after she focused on it. Long white hair and white clothing...

_It... can't be Sesshomaru!_

"Inuyasha," she said urgently. "Look! Over there!"

"I don't see anything."

"Do you smell your brother?"

"Huh? No. Just fucking horse demons everywhere and their goddamn stinking horses. They must've been lying in wait, ready to ambush the moment Hiuchimaru left the area unattended."

Suddenly a pair of youkai fell over as a black whip struck them around the neck and pulled them to the ground. The whip then coiled up and out of sight into the underbrush. Kagome felt a swell of youkai presence. This was a very powerful being, whatever it was. And she was certain it was a youkai. Another flash of white and the whip coiled out again, knocking the bow out of the hands of an archer who was aiming his arrow at Opaaru.

_That can't be Sesshomaru, he doesn't skulk around like that. He'd make himself known immediately. But who's doing that attacking with a whip?_ Kagome leaned over, straining to see who their benefactor was.

"Hold still, would you? I need my balance to fight these bastards!"

Kagome obediently situated herself in the center of his back, keeping her arms hooked around his shoulders so that she didn't accidentally choke him. She resolved to watch for the white demon, though.

Several of the uma-youkai had pulled back when Opaaru abruptly transformed. However, it was clear that the transformation was not intentional, as the colt looked flabberghasted and very awkward in his new form.

Hekigyuki ordered the archers to grab arrows and aim at the spirit-horse.

"Damn," Miroku said wearily, "I really don't think the kid's got the same resistance to flint that his father does. If they corner him, they could kill him, even in that form."

"We have to do something!" Sango said from aboard Kirara, who was trying to avoid the attackers' blades, while still distracting the archers. "We can't let them kill Opaaru too! _DO SOMETHING!_" She shifted Hiraikotsu to shield the frightened Mimiko from a thrown knife. The toddler clung to her protector, and her supernatural hearing enabled Sango to predict the direction from which each weapon was coming -- Mimiko could hear the attacker releasing the weapon, and her ears focused in that direction.

"Give me a minute to think, Sango," the monk snapped peevishly. "What we need is Hiuchimaru. If they waited until he left to attack, that must mean they're afraid of him. We need to find a way to call him back. Sango, maybe you should take Mimiko and Kirara and go get him. I imagine if you ask her, Mimiko can show you which direction they went in; her hearing is probably good enough to pick them up."

Opaaru had a better idea, apparently. The spirit-colt braced all four feet, threw his head back, and trumpeted a distress call that echoed through the forest. The message was jaw-grindingly clear. The frenzied activity of the attackers reached fever pitch. Clearly they didn't want to deal with the forest guardian himself.

Inuyasha set Kagome down next to Miroku, nudging her close to the monk as he drew Tetsusaiga. "Stay here," he said. "Don't move a bit. I've had it with this idiots." He situated himself so that everyone except Opaaru was behind him and raised the blade. Kagome bit her lip in apprehension. _Please, Opaaru, get out of the way if he throws the Wind Scar! You won't be able to withstand it!_

"I've had a very long and trying couple of days," the inu-hanyou growled angrily. "You fucking horse-bastards ain't making it any easier on me!"

"I don't know who you think you are," Hekigyoku said haughtily, "but a half-breed is no match for a pure demon."

"Oh, fuck off and tell that to someone who cares!"

Inuyasha raised Tetsusaiga to execute a Wind Scar, but the black whip darted out from the bushes and lashed around the blade, disrupting his momentum.

"What the fuck -- "

"You cannot be so foolhardy, hanyou." A voice said from the trees behind where the whip originated from. Kagome just barely sighted the apparition-like demon before it melted back into the shadows. "Do not go diving headfirst into battle against so many foes, when your attack could harm your companions and your surroundings. Besides, help is on the way."

_What?_

A shadow passed over the clearing as the monstrous form of an angry spirit-horse loomed overhead.

Hiuchimaru had returned, and he was _pissed_.

He wasn't the only one who was angry, either, by the looks of things.

Koe launched herself from his shoulders, straight at a clump of uma-youkai, who cowered in fear. With a savage roar of feral wrath, she slashed at them with her claws and decapitated five of them in one multi-swing pass, showering their blood over the clearing. Her eyes burned white-hot with rage. Huichimaru opened his great maw and breathed out a swath of blue demonfire, scorching another group of them and searing them alive. Then, in a motion that stunned Kagome and confused the others, the big spirit-horse delivered what looked like an annoyed cow-kick at Opaaru, hitting the colt in the chest and throwing him against a line of trees. The impact broke his concentration and reversed the transformation.

Kagome couldn't tear her eyes off of Koe, as the female youkai froze her victims in place with her hypnotic voice and calmly slashed them to death. The ones that weren't burnt alive by Hiuchimaru's demonfire were executed in the most coldblooded, nonchalant manner imaginable. Kagome couldn't even imagine Sesshomaru being so methodical about killing something...

Koe paused before Hekigyoku, eyeing him despondently. "You are a threat to my family," she said blandly, and then slashed his head from his shoulders in a single swipe. With a disgusted shake of her hands, she flicked the blood away and turned to where the group stood.

_Damn, no wonder she wears no visible weapons. She doesn't NEED any!_

Abruptly, the big spirit-horse transformed down to his usual form. Hiuchimaru approached what remained of Hekigyoku with the most incredulous expression on his face.

"I..." he said softly, gazing at the bloodied remains. "I trusted you, Hekigyoku. It's just as well that your blood isn't on my claws."

Koe approached where Ashita lay motionless, her eyes misting over with grief. "How did this happen? How could you not foresee this, Nee-chan?"

Hiuchimaru also approached, somewhat hesitantly, his eyes darkening with sadness. "More now than ever, I wish Father still lived, or that I knew what had happened to my sister Midoriko." He knelt beside his mate, gingerly touching the arrow wound. "It was nearly a direct hit. A hair's-breath more to the left and she would have died instantly. This..." his voice caught with grief. "...this is worse. She's still alive, but she won't last another hour."

"That arrow's barbed," Koe said, her voice low but angry. "I can tell by the fletching, and I can see some other ones laying around. If you pull that thing out, it'll rip her chest open and kill her."

"Don't!" Kagome wailed desperately when she saw Hiuchimaru's hand move to do precisely that.

"Why not? She's dying, priestess. I can't let her suffer. That is a cruelty I am not capable of."

"I might be able to save her! You've got to let me try! Please!"

Hiuchimaru's muscles froze entirely. "You... what?" His eyes narrowed at her. "Are you sure about that? There's probably a lot of damage to her heart muscle."

"My mom's a nurse, and she taught me all kinds of techniques, and I've studied really hard. I can't guarantee anything, but I have to try and save her. She didn't deserve this, and if I can help her, I have to do it. It's a calling, if you will." The words tumbled out of her mouth almost incoherently. She couldn't bear the thought of Ashita dying before she'd had a chance to try and save her. And besides, if I can just get that arrow out, her own youkai healing with take care of repairing the damage. Please, let me try."

The hogosha-youkai bowed his head toward the ground, and Kagome could have sworn she saw a tear fall into the dust. Then he stood up. "Very well. I leave her in your hands. Do not let her suffer. Opaaru?" He looked over at his son, who sat dejectedly against a tree. "Come with me, kouma."

The colt stood up and approached his father, but then threw himself prostrate a few steps away. "It's all my fault, Father! I couldn't protect her!"

"You couldn't have stopped something like that, kouma, don't be ridiculous. Not even _I_ could have stopped an arrow like that. Where's your sister?"

"She's safe," Sango said as she dismounted Kirara and set Hiraikotsu down. "They were after her. I think she's the whole reason for this attack."

"I know," Hiuchimaru said dejectedly. Mimiko started struggling, reaching for him, and he abruptly plucked her from Sango's arms, holding the toddler close and closing his eyes with regret. "I should have known it would come to this. Uma-youkai hate humans, and therefore hate hanyou even more."

"You're not like the others, obviously."

"I'm not an uma-youkai, you'll notice. But what about you? Why did you protect her?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're a taijiya. Why did you protect this hanyou child? Aren't hanyou viewed as abominations by the exterminators?"

Sango gave him a curious look and thought on that one a bit, before answering. "You're right, the taijiya do view a hanyou that way. But I've learned otherwise. I've met others besides Inuyasha, and I can say truthfully that they are amazing creatures. They are more resilient than either parent, if you ask me. To watch Inuyasha, you'd never guess he's only half-blooded."

Hiuchimaru looked over at where Kagome was rummaging through her pack for her medical supplies. "Is she competent enough for that task?"

"Kagome? I'd trust her with my life," Sango said without missing a beat. "But don't just take my word for it. See for yourself. Anyway, as to why I protected Mimiko, aside from that fact, I just couldn't bear the thought of a tiny child being slaughtered. Call it a maternal instinct, I guess. I just couldn't let them kill a baby."

"Well, taijiya -- "

"My name is Sango."

"Very well, then, Sango, it appears I am in your debt."

"That," a menacing voice said from behind them, "is what I feared you'd say, Hai'iro."

* * *

**Author's afterword note**: Ah yes. Another cliffhanger (can you see smug grin?). Now, this chapter had some weird twists I didn't anticipate. I did NOT expect Opaaru to force his own transformation. I was all set to have Koga make a brief appearance in this chapter too. He must have gotten lost on the way or something, because he never made it in time. And I didn't exactly expect Koe to become so coldblooded and nonchalant about killing. oO Man. Well, she's gotta be good for something, I guess. I deleted a brief scene in which she and Hiuchimaru hear Opaaru's distress call, just because it was too awkward, the shift in scenes. I may flash-back to it in a later chapter, because there is some significant character development. Why am I saying this in an end-note? Who the hell knows. XD I'm looney toons today on lack of sleep.

One more thing: that demon with the white hair? Yeah. Will appear next chapter. If you've been paying attention to the hints I've dropped, you'll already have a hunch who it is. Ciao! Until next time, minna-san! X3


	28. Part Twenty Eight: Into the Sunset

**Author's Note**: I refer to Himawari's horse by standard horse descriptions. To give you an idea of how big he is, keep in mind that horses are measured height-wise from the top of the shoulders to the ground. A "hand" is a measurement of about four inches. A standard full-sized horse is about fifteen hands tall. The big draft horses that pull the Budweiser beer wagons are usually about eighteen hands. Also keep in mind that a horse that is eighteen hands is six feet tall at the shoulders. A horse over nineteen hands is considered almost unheard-of.

**Disclaimer**: In one paragraph, I mention the northern isle, Hokkaido, and Osaka, another major city on Honshu (main island of Japan). I'm not entirely sure if the term "Osaka" was used back in the Sengoku Jidai to refer to the area that is now known as Osaka. I initially used "Okayama" which is slightly north and west a bit of Osaka (I think... I'm not entirely sure, the maps are hard to read) but further research yielded that what we now call Okayama was not called that back then. So I changed it to Osaka..

**Soundtrack**: (aka the stuff I listened to while writing this chapter) Again, I used Inuyasha character singles to keep me focused, and thus I came up with the name of the chapter -- "Kaze no Naka e" (Into the Wind) and "Rakujitsu" (Sunset) -- since it's taking place late in the day.

**Note**: I usually post up-to-date news regarding my popular stories on my FF-net profile page. If you're interested in knowing what's going on with the story and when I plan to have the next chapter done, check my author-profile page to see.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Eight: Into the Sunset**

Koe had had a bad feeling all day that something terrible was brewing. From the moment she'd awakened, she'd felt some misgivings. Ashita had insisted that she _Saw_ nothing out of the ordinary, but the limitations of Ashita's gift were greater than its benefits, a fact that was far too easy to forget.

She'd been uncomfortable leaving Ashita behind while going with Hiuchimaru to chase some half-dead zombies out of the forest before the fire-breathing one set fire to some of the trees. But she hadn't been able to put a reason to her unease... until the moment when she realized just how terrible a mistake she'd made.

Because of her impaired hearing, of course, she herself hadn't heard the call that brought Hiuchimaru around in an eye blink, nearly throwing her from his shoulders. Had she not been hanging onto the mane, she would have ended up face-first in one of the trees.

"What the hell are you doing!" she'd yelled into the wind as the giant spirit-horse launched off in the opposite direction they'd been traveling.

_That call,_ Hiuchimaru had replied, his telepathic voice pulsing with anxiety.

"What call?"

_You didn't hear it? It was a call -- I think it was Opaaru, and it was a high distress call. Something has happened._

That single moment had been among the worst in her life. Hiuchimaru had youkai hearing, yes, and very good hearing at that, but the only way Opaaru could have called to him from this distance would have been if the colt had somehow forced a spirit-transformation. Since Hiuchimaru had taken pains to see to it that his son didn't transform until maturity, the fact that it had happened could only mean that something really terrible had happened.

Something must have happened to Ashita, for this to be happening.

The heat of fear and the racing of her heart triggered an unwelcome memory.

* * *

_"What are you doing, Meuma?" The deep, metallic voice of the forest guardian boomed._

_"I leave this creature in your care, Kuroshima. I cannot be responsible for her anymore. One would think she was a hanyou, with how ugly she is and how poor her senses are. I can assure you she is not, for I would never breed with a human, but that only adds to her mystery. Why, her sense of smell is no better than a human's, and her hearing is even worse than that! I leave her to you."_

_Kuroshima growled in the back of his throat; "What use do you think _I _have for the spawn of an outsider? It is _your _foal, Meuma, not mine."_

_"She will be a detriment to my herd. She cannot hear what she should, she cannot smell the difference between friend and foe, and she cannot command even a newborn horse-foal! She is _useless _to me!"_

_"What is its name?" Kuroshima bent his disgusted countenance upon the tiny child, a mere weanling barely even five years old. It had messy brown hair that tried to curl, a long face with faintly-equine features and bizarrely shaped ears. Her brownish-bronze eyes were filled with tears._

_"I have called her Manatsu, because she was born on the Midsummer. You may name her whatever you wish."_

_"I have no desire to raise your foal, Meuma. Take it from my sight."_

_"Dispose of her as you will, Kuroshima." The leader mounted her horse and turned it to the south. "She is not my concern anymore."_

_Kuroshima sighed, realizing that arguing with Meuma's departing back was pointless. He glared at the creature left in his care. "I cannot be burdened with you. I'll give you five minutes to get lost; if you do not leave now, I will put you out of your misery."_

_"Wait, Father!" another voice rang out. "Don't!"_

_Kuroshima lowered his hand and turned to the human-like youkai behind him. "Give me one good reason why I should put up with this useless lump of flesh, Moriko."_

_Moriko bustled past her father and crouched beside the weanling, deliberately placing herself in front as a shield. "She's my sister, Father. Isn't that reason enough?"_

_Kuroshima snorted angrily; "If you wish to raise that thing, that is your prerogative. I will have nothing to do with it."_

_Moriko smiled at him; "I knew you had a heart in you, Father. You don't like killing foals any more than anyone else. I'll take care of her. Did Mother give a name?"_

_"Meuma named it Manatsu."_

_"Not 'it,' Father. She's a 'her.' The least you could do is to give her that much credit."_

_Kuroshima eyed his daughter critically. "Whatever. Let's go." He turned abruptly and started back into the forest's interior._

_"Just a moment." Moriko picked up the youngster and set her onto her hip. "So, Manatsu, can you speak?"_

_"Yes," the little one said softly, in a voice that was remarkably sweet and clear. "Who are you?"_

_"I'm your sister, Moriko. That," she gestured with a toss of her head toward the forest, indicating the cranky old youkai disappearing into the shadows, "is my father Kuroshima. He may seem tough, but he's a very gentle person inside. He's the guardian of this forest here, and as long as you're with me, you'll be safe."_

_Manatsu's face folded up into a toddler's expression of frustration. "But... why doesn't Mama...?"_

_"Meuma, our mother, is only a broodmare. She only produces offspring. She's not very good at raising them. She doesn't understand. But she knew enough to bring you here, where I could find you. Don't be afraid, little one."_

_"Moriko, quit dawdling!" The annoyed voice drifted back from within the darkness amongst the trees._

_"There's no need to rush, Father; White Soul Mountain is drawing the intruders away." Moriko strode into the forest's darkness, following her sire._

_"How do you know that?" Kuroshima asked the same question he always asked. "Are you seeing it or are you guessing it?"_

_"I can see it."_

_"Honestly," Kuroshima said Moriko came to his side, "we need to change your name to Mirai or something."_

_Moriko laughed, somewhat nervously; "Mirai indicates distant future, Father. I can't see that far. Only just beyond tomorrow."_

_"Ashita, then, if your sight is so limited." Kuroshima glanced at her. She grinned at him._

_"We have this discussion all the time, Father. We don't need to change my name right now. I'm perfectly fine with the name you gave me."_

_"What of that?" he indicated Manatsu with his icy gaze._

_"Father, she's too young for a name change. We don't know what she can do! And for the last time, _she _has a gender!"_

_Kuroshima swatted branches aside as he walked, telepathically chastising the trees for being so careless. They knew better than to obstruct this well-used path. He traveled this path weekly. "How did you know about her? I thought you were over by White Soul Mountain's edge of the forest."_

_"I heard a voice calling me. A tiny voice crying for someone to help."_

_"So you heard it too? You think it was her?"_

_"Well, I don't know, but it drew me in this direction, so it could be."_

_Kuroshima pondered this. "If you're going to raise her, you keep an eye -- so to speak -- on that voice. That might be why she has such impaired senses. Maybe all her power is centered on her voice. If she has as powerful a voice as we suspect, we might consider renaming her something like Koe."_

_"It's too early for that, Father," Moriko reminded. "But I'll keep it in mind. I like how you said 'we,' though!"_

_"Humph. I'm your guardian, Moriko. Therefore I'll be guarding that little runt. Don't expect me to get emotionally attached though."_

* * *

Forty years had passed since that day, and still Koe couldn't shake that memory. The utter despair of knowing her own mother didn't care what happened to her, exacerbated by the cold indifference of the forest guardian, still froze her very soul in memory, four decades removed. 

When she was known as Manatsu, she had been bloody afraid of Kuroshima. Even though her sister insisted Kuroshima was a gentle person, she'd always been afraid of him. Upon reaching puberty, her control over her voice had increased to a degree that Kuroshima and Moriko -- newly christened Ashita by this time -- decided to rename her accordingly. From that point on, Kuroshima had been much more tolerable. Koe still hadn't liked or trusted him, but he had ceased being so bloody cold. He'd even taught her how to fight hand-to-hand, using only the claws she was born with, enabling her to become a very capable combatant, capable of protecting herself and her sister. It was one of the few youkai things she could do well. The Eien no Mori uma-youkai respected and feared her fighting skills, though they also knew about her poor hearing and poor sense of smell.

Her sister had been both mother and sister to her growing up. In gratitude to Ashita's dedication to her, Koe had devoted her life to her sister. Since Ashita had been the only person to wholly accept her, Koe resolved to repay that debt with her own life. All attempts at finding a mate for Koe had failed miserably -- most uma-youkai stallions were repulsed by her inability command respect from mundane horses, as well as her lack of ability to smell the difference between stallions and or to hear the subsonic guttural calls of a stallion. She was deemed a failure as an uma-youkai, despite her affinity for horses.

When Kuroshima died, Hiuchimaru was called to the forest. By this time, Ashita had already produced three offspring of her own, but all three had chosen upon weaning to follow their sires into the open plains, to become standard uma-youkai. Hiuchimaru had been young for a forest guardian, but as the only son of one of the most well-known and strongest of forest guardians anywhere, he had the talent. Ashita had been smitten with him immediately, and her love for him had only grown with the years. Even Koe had grown to love him, because he didn't judge her on her shortcomings. He tended to talk gruffly to her, but even she could see the underlying affection in his demeanor. More often he was just momentarily annoyed with her when he spoke harshly than genuinely disgusted.

Koe was under no false pretenses, though. She knew that Ashita was the mortar that held them all together. Her sister was the mortar that held her very life together. To lose Ashita like this would be to shatter the family and to send Koe into a tailspin of despair and identity crisis.

She wanted to slaughter this young human female for daring to think she could save Ashita from such a wound. How could _any_ human hope to save Ashita from a blow like this? Koe seriously doubted even Nijimaru would have been successful removing the arrow without harming Ashita... but Hiuchimaru had given his blessing, and Koe had to respect his decision.

She didn't have to _like_ it, though.

* * *

For her part, Kagome wondered what had possessed her to do this. She had no idea what she was doing, despite all the experience she'd racked up bandaging up Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango. Even all the instruction in the world from her mom's books couldn't necessarily help. 

Nevertheless, while Koe used her voice to hypnotize Ashita, to keep her partly conscious but motionless, Kagome washed her hands in the hot spring and set about trying to extract the arrow without inflicting any further harm. For a moment she feared she'd never be able to do it, but then it almost felt like a pair of warm hands settled on top of hers and began guiding her hands through the movements.

In the dying light of the red sunset, she worked tirelessly, extracting arrow-shrapnel from the wound with a precision she wasn't convinced was her own. Just as she reached the base of the arrowhead, there was a great commotion on the other side of the clearing. She started to look up, but heard a voice say _No, concentrate. Let the others handle that. Your job is to save her._

* * *

Apparently someone didn't like warm-and-fuzzy moments, Sango noted to herself as she watched with incredulity as the calm scene before her altered into chaos in a heart beat. No sooner had Hiuchimaru said that it appeared he was in her debt (for saving Mimiko) than an angry, aggressive voice had snarled 

"_That_ is what I feared you'd say, Hai'iro."

Hiuchimaru froze complete, then lunged sideways, placing himself physically in front of Sango and turning to use his back as a shield, so that Mimiko wouldn't get hurt. A black whip snaked out from the trees and lashed itself around him.

"Himawari," he said through gritted teeth. He pressed Mimiko into Sango's arms for a moment and wrenched the whip off, yanking it out of the hands of his attacker. "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come visit my _darling_ little brother anymore?" retorted the voice as its source came forward. What emerged from the trees was the spitting image of Kiniromaru -- but in white, rather than gold. This female youkai had a very pale complexion and snow-white hair. Her clothing resembled Kiniromaru's armor -- close-fitting and functional, allowing free-range of motion -- though she lacked the mantle Sango recalled Kiniromaru wearing. However, this woman's clothing was of much better quality and seemed to flow with her body movements. Strapped at her waist were two blades -- a katana and a kodachi. She also had another coiled whip hooked to her belt.

For a splash of color, she had a sunflower bloom emblazoned on her breastplate. She also wore a small sunflower bloom in her hair.

Hiuchimaru angrily coiled up the whip and threw it at her. "If this is how you greet me, Himawari, I'd rather you didn't visit. This has been one hell of a day, and you're not helping."

"So I see," Himawari said ironically, surveying the carnage. "Well, that barbaric female of yours has definitely made a mess of the place. And you, I see, have gone soft."

There was a fluttering snort and sharp whinny from behind Himawari. A few seconds later, a youba stepped out of the shadows. Compared to a regular horse, it was huge -- Sango was no expert on horses, but that thing had to be well over twenty hands at least. Not only that, but it was a bizarre color -- not exactly white, but not exactly anything else. The blazing red eyes with cat-like pupils were characteristic of a youba, but she was pretty certain that they weren't prevalent in this part of Japan. Her father had told her that most of the youba had fled north to Hokkaido, or west past Osaka.

Himawari was watching Sango's reaction, apparently, because she patted the creature. "This is my partner, Shunme. He shares my distinct distaste for humans. Especially those who proclaim to be taijiya."

Hiuchimaru stepped back, apparently realizing something grave. "Opaaru," he said, his voice remarkably calm, considering how apprehensive his posture was. "Come over here."

The colt was instantly on alert. He scrambled to his feet and came to his father's side.

Hiuchimaru reached into his left sleeve and pulled out a small, flat dark gray stone. Handing it to Opaaru, without taking his eyes off Himawari, he said in a calm, even tone, "I want you to take your sister, and take _this_, and get out of the way. This isn't going to be pretty. I want you to protect your sister with everything you have. Put up every shield you know how to make, and hold them up for as long as you can."

The command in his voice brooked no argument, but the colt stared at him all the same even as he complied. "But... why are you giving me...?"

Sango frowned as she racked her memory. If she recalled correctly from her research, hogosha-youkai often used a focus-stone, which they used to store their powers of personal shielding when said powers were not in use. If this was the case, and if that stone was what she thought it was, then Hiuchimaru had just given his own focus-stone to his son, which meant that all of his personal shields would center around Opaaru and Mimiko, rather than around himself. And given how powerful his personal shields were, that said something for the danger he presumed his son and adopted daughter to be in.

"Just do it, Opaaru. Don't ask questions. It's for your own good. Now move."

"Aw," Himawari said ironically. "Do you think so little of me, that you'd expect me to attack a child?"

"Why not?" Hiuchimaru spat. "I know how you feel about both humans and hanyou. I've seen you kill human children before. You don't honestly think, after what just happened here, that I'd blindly trust you just because you're my sister? I trusted Hekigyoku, and look what he did."

"Well, then I guess there's no point wasting time. You have crossed the line, Hai'iro, when you proclaimed to be in any way grateful to a member of that hated human clan, the taijiya. It isn't bad enough that you've compensated for your almost-nonexistent fertility by having your mate breed with a human; now you proclaim to be indebted to a taijiya?" Himawari's eyes glowed red for a moment as she coiled up the whip in her hand, prepared to use it. "I'll make you see the error of your ways, one way or another!"

* * *

**Afterword**: First of all, yikes. (wink) I need to learn how to cut to the chase instead of long paragraphs of floofy nothingness. (headdesk) Hopefully the little episode of Koe-angst at the beginning didn't lose anyone's interest! I just wanted to develop her a little more character-wise, and figured that there had to be some kind of reason why an adult youkai would choose to stay with her sister rather than find her own mate. So... there you go. This was going to be a fight chapter, but it ran long, and so I think the fight chapter will be next chapter. Next chapter is looking at this time like it's going to run long... we'll see. 

Also, a word on Himawari's weapons: If you're unsure what a kodachi is, do a look up on Google. In the anime-manga _Rurouni Kenshin_, Shinomori Aoshi uses a pair of kodachi instead of a regular sword. However, the description of Himawari with a kodachi is just to give you an idea of what she's equipped with. I don't think she's ever really going to use it (because I don't know exactly how it's used anyway -- I get the feeling from _Rurouni Kenshin_ that Aoshi uses them in a way that's not normal for the use of a kodachi).

**Original Characters:  
Himawari** (born Hanako): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature, and often serves as a messenger of sorts.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead.**  
Hiuchimaru** (born Hai'iro): (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei.**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) juvenile uma-youkai; son of Hiuchimaru and Ashita. The only offspring of Hiuchimaru.**  
Ashita** (born Moriko): (female) hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance.  
**Koe** (born Manatsu): (female) younger half-sister of Ashita; she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods.  
**Mimiko**: (female) hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru.  
**Kuroshima**: (male) previous guardian of the Eien no Mori; Ashita's sire. Deceased (cause of death undisclosed).  
**Meuma** (birth name unknown): (female) once-dominant female uma-youkai in the Eien no Mori. Mother of Ashita and Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Rengoku**: (male) a consort of Meuma. Sire of Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Shunme**: (male) Himawari's youba partner

**Vocabulary:  
**ashita - "tomorrow" or the near future  
hai'iro - "gray color"  
himawari - "sunflower"  
hiuchi - "flint"  
katana - traditional Japanese sword  
kodachi - a blade that is between a knife and a sword; shorter and lighter than a katana  
koe - "voice"  
kouma - "colt" or "filly" (basically, baby horse)  
meuma - "female horse; mare"  
mirai - "future" (usually distant future)  
mori - "forest"  
rengoku - "purgatory"  
shunme - "swift horse"  
youba - "youkai horse" - the context I use it in is pretty much the same as the word used to describe Entei.


	29. Part Twenty Nine: Sons and Daughters

**Author's Note: **For anyone who doesn't know what an event horizon is, it is defined (quoting from wikipedia here) as: "a boundary in spacetime at which the escape velocity for a given mass reaches and then exceeds the speed of light, making escape impossible." Typically, it is used to describe the outermost boundary of a black hole or supernova. Keep this in mind as you read the part about Ashita's dream.

**Disclaimer: **According to my research, the zanbatou never really existed in Sengoku Jidai, despite claims in _Rurouni Kenshin_ that it did exist then. However, I figured it would make a good reference for Ashita. I know that Banryuu is in fact (supposedly; referred to as) a halberd, but Ashita wouldn't know what that is. For more information, go to wikipedia and type in "zanbatou" into the search box.

**Soundtrack**: (aka the stuff I listened to while writing this chapter) "Beyond the Pale" by Laura Powers inspired the first portion (Ashita's dream)

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Twenty-Nine: Sons and Daughters**

_She wasn't dead. _

_Ashita knew that much. She didn't know where -- or even what -- exactly she _was_, but she wasn't dead. Not yet, anyway._

_She couldn't remember how she got here or what it was that had happened. All she knew was that her chest throbbed with an acute pain just over her heart. She struggled to remember what had happened. The last she could recall, Hiuchimaru had gotten up and left her side again, citing his usual duties. Koe had been reluctant to leave her as well, but there had been a reason... The excruciating pain in her chest flowed like ocean waves, crashing against her ribcage with thunderous force and slowly ebbing away, only to crash back at full force again._

_How had she come by this bizarre injury? And how did she get here, wherever "here" was? It had something to do with an arrow..._

_An unfamiliar but entrancing voice floated briefly toward her. It was a smooth masculine voice, soft and seductive, yet coated in evil-feeling oil. It was oddly reminiscent of venomous spiders; for some reason, she was reminded of the malevolent youkai spider that had bitten her the day she'd given birth to Opaaru. Its extremely potent venom would have killed her had her mate's sister not been there. Midoriko was a skilled youkai healer (though not as talented as their reputed father) and had visited them to offer her assistance in the birth of their son. The green-eyed horse demon's specialized talents for drawing out toxins and poisons had proven to be Ashita's saving grace. It wasn't the first time someone had saved her life, and it wasn't the last. It had been shortly after that incident with the youkai spider that Midoriko had stopped visiting them. A few years later, rumors had begun circulating that Midoriko had died. Ashita had wondered ever since if somehow that spider incident had contributed to her rumored death. Had the spider's venom been too much for even Midoriko, who was strangely immune to nearly all youkai venoms, to handle? Had it tainted her and slowly killed her?_

_Ashita shivered at the unwanted memory recall. Hiuchimaru had never voiced any suspicions about his sister's disappearance, and she did wonder if he'd forgotten about the spider incident. He hadn't been there when it happened -- he had been on the other side of the forest, driving out invaders, as was his obligation. He'd only heard about it afterwards when he'd returned to find his sister performing a leeching ritual on his mate._

_Occasionally, a certain sense of guilt nagged at Ashita. If it was the spider that had caused Midoriko's death -- if Midoriko was indeed dead -- then to some degree, Ashita felt responsible. After all, she'd been careless and had inadvertently cornered the arachnid. If she hadn't been so careless, if she'd taken Koe's warnings about increased spider activity in the area more seriously..._

_The hypnotic voice spoke again, a longer pronouncement. She felt suddenly unclean, as though the voice had seen into her and seen such horrific things that it found amusing, that even her mate would be disgusted by... and yet, she could think of nothing about her that Hiuchimaru would find overtly repulsive. Even if she blamed herself for what had happened to Midoriko, it was unlikely that he would see it that way. He was irritatingly philosophical in that way... Still, the longer she listened to this invasive voice, more debased she felt._

_Curiously, she couldn't understand what the owner of the voice said. It was like he spoke in another language. Yet she was certain that wasn't true. Perhaps she wasn't meant to understand what was said. She heard someone say a name she recognized -- but couldn't remember why she recognized it._

_She felt a cold, icy fog crawl past her, stinging her skin wherever it encountered, and she drew her arms in tightly around herself. Who was speaking, and where was she? She needed to answer those questions._

_Her stomach lurched a heartbeat after the questions formed in her mind. A mild case of vertigo shook her senses. Briefly, she glimpsed a sight through the mists of the world around her. This was unlike any other Sighting she'd ever had. It was almost as if they stood before her and yet ignored her, for all that they were semi-transparent. She saw a beautiful man with incredibly long flowing black hair and reddish eyes, whose countenance of abject antipathy and malice made her blood run cold with fear. She saw only a peculiar animal pelt where his body should be. And yet it didn't seem to disrupt the appearance. He was a vision of terrible beauty, the kind that would kill you if it knew you looked upon it. _

_In front of him, listening to what he said as though he were taking orders was another man, this one what she imagined Opaaru would look like as an adult. Except for the peculiar tattoo on his forehead, his face seemed like an older mirror of Opaaru. His blue-black hair was even pulled into a long braid down his back, in the same manner that Opaaru's was. But the look of sheer blood thirst and cruelty in his dark blue eyes was nothing like her son. And to accentuate his aura of cruelty, the outline of a giant weapon framed him. The weapon looked like a zanbatou -- a horse-slayer's weapon. Cold apprehension washed through her at the realization that this was a man who used such a weapon. The weapon itself wasn't there, but its aura clung to its master here in this half-world._

_Then the pelted man turned his beautiful, deadly gaze upon her, and she knew she'd been allowed to see this exchange, yet not understand what was said. The vision then faded as the encroaching mists swirled in. Like a great cat playing with its prey, this pernicious creature had deliberately revealed himself to her, without revealing any details as to _why

_The question dogged her. Why had she been made to see these men? Who were they? And what were they doing here, in this half-world land between life and death. Or was that even what this world was? Where exactly was she? She still didn't have an answer that basic question._

_She looked around herself, trying to see if she could find any clues as to what was going on. Where she stood was unlike any place she'd ever seen, even in dreams. It was a world of cold, hostile gray mists that formed unusual patterns, resembling the threads of countless spider webs. And just a few steps beyond the misty threads around her was a terrifying event horizon. If she strayed too close to the edge, the gaping maw of the emptiness would swallow her entirely. She had to escape this hellhole, and yet everywhere she turned was framed with absolute emptiness. There was no escape, except through the void around her._

_She just wanted to go home!_

_"My child, have you come to join me?"_

_That voice..._

_A form began to take shape in front of her. A tall, dark-eyed male with black hair pulled back into the traditional queue, clothed in modest attire. A very familiar form. Someone she loved almost as dearly as her mate and children._

_"Moriko, is it time for you to join me already?" The voice of her father Kuroshima, a voice she hadn't heard in twenty years or more, very nearly broke her poise. "You are ready to leave them all behind?"_

_It wasn't until Kuroshima stopped speaking that Ashita realized there was another voice, very soft and rhythmic, permeating the gray fog around them. It had been present all along, but now it was more prominent. She strained her ears, and caught her sister's distinctive inflection. There were no discernable words, but it was Koe's voice nonetheless. She knew that voice like she knew her own. Was it Koe's voice that held her rooted to this spot, keeping her from slipping into the land of death?_

_"Father, where are we?"_

_"Come to me, Moriko. I cannot bear to see you suffer in limbo. Come forward!"_

_The command went through to her core, and she tried to move forward, but her body wouldn't obey. It was more than fear, more than Koe's voice that held her in place. Some outside force restrained her as well._

_"Moriko, why do you hesitate?"_

_"Do not force her, Kuroshima." Another voice spoke, this one not as deep, more brassy and tenor than Kuroshima's bass timbre. It struck a wrong chord in its own way, and yet she was not alarmed by this voice. "She must decide for herself."_

_"Or rather," Kuroshima said angrily, "she should decide what you dictate she should decide, is that it? Let go of her. Let her come to me or not, but give her freedom!"_

_Ashita realized that what held her back was a prismatic ring around her body, a ribbon of iridescent light across her aching chest. It was almost invisible, it was so faint, and yet it was there, holding her firmly in place. It seemed to wax and wane in visibility in time with the waves of pain in her chest. As the pain ebbed, the circlet of rainbows seemed to brighten. Then the crashing of pain made the ring nearly invisible._

_"Decide for yourself, Ashita," the other voice said. "I can help you; I can lead you back, but only if you help me."_

_"Help you? How?"_

_"I can guide you back, but you must provide the propulsion. I cannot take you there; you must take yourself. But I can guide you. However, you must decide on your own. Do you wish to return to your living family, to face all the challenges and hardships that lay unmapped down the road? Or do you wish to end it all here and go into the painless afterlife with your sire?"_

_"Who are you? Why do you care about me?"_

_The voice coalesced before her into a human-like shape of a man with a mane of chestnut hair. His facial features reminded her starkly of Hiuchimaru and made her heart instantly ache to be with her mate. But his eyes... his eyes were like a pair of crystal scrying-spheres, the kind Kuroshima had once used for divination... only, these crystals refracted the entire rainbow. It was very much like the iridescent tendencies of Opaaru's eyes when he was particularly serious. Even Hiuchimaru's eyes occasionally grew multi-hued, but not like this..._

_With a start, she remembered something Hiuchimaru had once told her, about a particular, unusual feature someone in his family had. His father had had rainbow eyes._

_"I am Nijimaru, sire of your mate. I care about you because I care about my son, and I know that he will not be able to cope emotionally with losing you right now."_

_"You meddler, Nijimaru," Kuroshima snarled from where he stood, just this side of the event horizon._

_"How now, Kuroshima? Do you mean to tell me that that you would not interfere if your children fought as mine do right now?" Nijimaru turned and glowered at Kuroshima. "Be honest with yourself. Would you have her give up now, when there is still much for her to do? I do not delight in the prospect of my son being driven mad with grief, nor of my daughters all following me into the Afterlife."_

_"You _have _a daughter with you in the Afterlife. I have no one! My loneliness is -- "_

_"Your loneliness is selfish, if you desire your daughter to forsake everything because you're tired of being alone! She has two underaged foals, one of which very much still needs a mother. Your daughter will join you eventually. But there are many who still need her."_

_Kuroshima turned away deliberately. "I was never as glib or as strong as you, cousin. Do as you will. I could hardly stop you, even now."_

_Ashita hesitated as she watched her father's image fade. Nijimaru faded as well, melding into the rainbow ring that encircled her. She wanted to call out to her father, but feared that doing so would take the decision she tried to make out of her hands. She wanted to be with her father again, and yet..._

_"Ashita, choose quickly. The longer you tarry here, the harder it will be. What do you want to do? If you wait too long, the decision will be made for you."_

_"I... I want to see Flint and Mimiko and Opaaru and Koe... I want to go back to them. I'm not ready to leave them. Lead me to them, please!"_

_Complete silence met her words. There was no change whatsoever. Apprehension sank its claws into her spine. "Please, Nijimaru! Take me home to my family!" she begged._

_"Start walking, Ashita. I cannot _take _you there. You must do this yourself, but I will guide your steps. Please trust me. You're running out of time."_

_"But there is nowhere to walk!"_

_"Walk forward. You cannot stand there for much longer, or else I will not be able to help you."_

_Ashita reached out tentatively. The mist-threads stung her hands, like a thousand fleas or tiny spiders biting her skin. She pulled her hands back again. "Which direction do I go? Everything looks like an event horizon, and it hurts to touch these webs!"_

_"Coming back from the brink of death is not easy, Ashita. You must walk into that event horizon that you see. I will guide you home, but you _must _take the steps."_

_"Do you know what you're doing?"_

_"I've done it before. Your sister's voice will help guide me. Now come forward. Trust me as you would my son, or else let go and let death take you."_

_Ashita closed her eyes and took one step forward, into the crisscrossing web of mist-threads. Her skin burned with irritation, but she did her best to ignore it. She mentally reached out and grasped onto Koe's wordless voice, clinging to it like a lifeline. Then she took a deep breath and stepped forward into the gaping abyss of the event horizon._

* * *

Hiuchimaru belatedly remembered how much he hated battle-whips, and why.

They left nasty little welts all over the skin, welts that stung and complained, impeding movement in tiny ways. It was easy to ignore a big long cut along one limb, but a hundred tiny welts all complaining in unison made it much more difficult to outmaneuver someone like Himawari.

Plus, he was employing an ability he hated to use when he wasn't in his full spirit-horse form. Self-levitation took great focus and concentration, and pretty much negated any offensive strikes he might have made. But he was determined to keep the fight off the ground, away from those who had already seen combat today, and whose safety could be used against him by Himawari or Shunme.

He raised his arms to deflect another blow from Himawari's whips, silently cursing his reduced speed. He should have been able to dodge that; she was deliberately slowing her motions just enough, testing him. His side ached acutely. That damned youba had kicked him hard in the trunk. Most likely a few ribs were broken now, which would explain why it was getting difficult to breathe properly.

Shunme had a savage bite and a painful kick, but it was Himawari herself that Hiuchimaru was more concerned about. Clever and hot-tempered as she was, she could have killed him by now if that was her objective.

She was clearly not trying to kill him. From the way she was deliberately tagging him and goading him, she was trying to drive him into a killing rage.

And dammit, it was starting to work, no thanks to Kiribitou's interest. He could feel the spirit of the fire elemental waking up and taking notice of what was going on. It worried him that Kiribitou was so aware. The last thing he needed was something else to focus his attention on. If Kiribitou got excited enough, it would demand to be drawn. And if that happened, it would then become a battle of wills between him and the fire elemental. A battle of wills he could not afford to lose.

His "bond" (if it could be called such) with Kiribitou was based primarily on his supremacy over the fire elemental's prison, which was the flint from which the sword's blade had been carved. As a general rule, he was in control of it insomuch as he didn't let it take control of him. That wasn't to say it hadn't tried and on occasion succeeded. But so far, the only way the sword had been able to possess or overpower him had been by ambush tactics, such as seizing control when Hiuchimaru himself was physically, emotionally or mentally exhausted.

If Kiribitou were to rouse now and demand to be drawn, and he were to succumb to its demands despite active resistance, the tenuous relation between the two of them would be sundered. There was no telling what Kiribitou would do once it figured out that it could overpower him. If that happened, it was likely that Himawari would have to kill him, to prevent Kiribitou from using him to go on a flaming warpath and set all of Japan ablaze in its fervor.

Himawari paused, glaring at him critically; "Good grief, Hai'iro. Is that all you've got? What happened to the fighter you used to be? What happened to all that training Mother gave you?"

A flame of irritation swelled in his soul. "Stop calling me Hai'iro."

"That's the name Mother gave you."

"Be that as it may, that is not my name anymore. Father recognized my name change."

"Whatever, Grey-eyes. You're just an immature colt in my viewing. You can't even handle a couple of standard battle-whips without getting severely fatigued? What kind of uma-youkai are you anyway?"

"In case you didn't notice, I'm not a goddamn uma-youkai," he snarled, alighting in a tree to rest. His forehead ached from the strain of concentration, and Kiribitou was becoming more restive. "I'm a hogosha youkai. Like our father."

"Father was a fool and an idiot," Himawari spat. "And look how he behaved when Mother died. He didn't lift a finger to protect her when those gods-be-damned taijiya attacked her!"

"I won't argue that Father was an idiot at times, but you glorify our mother. She was a fool and an idiot too," Hiuchimaru retorted. "Her pride caused her death. She could have survived if she had retreated to Father's forest when they attacked. She could have reached the forest in time. Father would have been able to protect her if she'd been within his boundaries. She wasn't, and he couldn't protect her. You don't understand a forest guardian's limits, you idiot.. _It was her own damned fault she died_. She should have known she was no match for a full cadre of taijiya. You glorify her as if she could do no wrong, but in fact our mother was a stupid, prideful mare who didn't know when to back down, and that caused her own death. You can't blame Nijimaru for his mate being a blockhead."

Himawari's countenance had grown steadily dour, but that statement made something in her snap and her expression went from dour conceit to outright hatred. "How dare you..."

"Oh, get off your ego," Hiuchimaru said wearily. "You know damned good and well what she was like. You're just like her, as a matter of fact. Only slightly smarter and a hell of a lot sassier."

Himawari's hands clenched the handles of the whips so tightly that the leather creaked audibly. "Are you trying to make me kill you?"

"No, but I won't fight you if you decide you want to. If you're trying to get _me_ to kill _you_, you've got the wrong sibling, Hanako."

Himawari started at his use of her birth name, and her anger spiked. She coiled up the whips and raised them into strike position, kneeing Shunme forward. "Enough talk. You'd better keep moving, or else you might find more casualties littering your forest! I've got a hell of a lot of anger to work out, and if you won't play, I'll _find_ someone to vent it on!"

* * *

Kagome felt lightheaded when she finished extracting the arrow and all its little barbs. The arrowhead had actually sort of exploded upon impact on her ribcage, creating more barbs. Throughout the whole procedure, she'd felt another presence guiding her hands, tweezing the tiniest pieces of shrapnel out with a practiced dexterity she knew wasn't her own. And then she'd sewn up the wound with tiny, neat stitches that reminded her of her mom. Kagome had never sewn up a wound like that before. She'd bandaged, but not sewn.

What she wanted to know now was, whose skills had she just employed?

_Mine,_ a voice said. _I was more than a healer by talent. I also learned to heal injuries the mundane way. My healing talent required me to take the injury or illness into myself, and it was much easier on me to not employ that talent when it wasn't absolutely necessary._

Kagome blinked, and realized that her vision was tinted with a spectrum of colors. She saw the barest, faintest outline of a man crouched immediately to her left.

"Nijimaru?" she whispered.

_You remember me, eh? I'm flattered._ The tone was sincere. _I have done my best to bring Ashita's spirit back to her body. And I've helped you to remove that which would have killed her. Whether she lives or dies now is entirely up to her. And I rather think she will. She seemed plenty eager to return._

"Why did you do this?"

_Well, a number of reasons, but mainly because I love my son. I don't wish to see him suffer any more than he already does under the burden he bears. And whatever anyone may think, he adores his mate. And besides, I felt I owed it to you and your company to help absolve you of Kiniromaru's demise. I know that you tried to save her, but that she didn't want to be saved. And I know that it has bothered you ever since. I rather hoped that in assisting you to save Ashita, perhaps you could absolve yourself of what happened to Kiniromaru. It was my actions that entangled all of you in what was essentially my own personal business. I guess you could say this is the only way I could think of to make amends. _

There was a pause as the rainbow tinting to her vision faded, as did the outline beside her.

_Oh, and one more thing. If she does wake up, ask her about the man she saw. I believe that this Naraku that you are pursuing was trying to seize her. And do tell Koe that her voice did reach me. I'm sure she'd be glad to know that her voice has not failed her, even if she has no way of confirming this herself._

_I am sorry for all the troubles I and my family have caused you and your group. I hope you can forgive me._

As his words faded in her mind, Kagome felt the earth beneath her begin to move and spin. And then a darkness totally unaffiliated with nighttime overcame her.

* * *

"She's all right," Koe said when Miroku lunged for Kagome's slumping body. "She's just exhausted. There's nothing wrong with her."

The monk glared at her. "The hell there's nothing wrong with her. She shouldn't be passing out like that!"

"She just extracted a shattered arrowhead from what amounted to mincemeat, without damaging any vital organs. I didn't know anyone had that kind of fine motor skills," Koe's voice radiated awe. "That takes concentration like you wouldn't believe. Of course she's exhausted. But she'll be fine once she's rested."

Miroku looked askance at the mare, trying to gage her reaction. Koe seemed genuinely astonished, and pleasantly. She cradled Ashita's head in her lap, inspecting the wound with a reverence that bespoke of her attachment to Ashita and her awe at Kagome's ability to save her.

No sooner had the monk heaved a sigh of relief that they had avoided a crisis, than another presented itself.

The battle between Himawari and Hiuchimaru was getting ugly.

* * *

"Okay," Inuyasha growled in his throat. "Fuck this. I've had enough. I can see from here that he's wounded, and she's just driving him around the area, just to exhaust him."

Sango quirked an eyebrow at him. "You're going to play the hero?"

"Not for his sake," the hanyou snorted. "But if she succeeds in doing away with him, who do you think her next target will be? You heard what she said about your clan. She'll come for you next. I can't allow that to happen."

Sango looked back up at the two combatants circling in the sky. It was pretty obvious that Hiuchimaru was in pain. He listed awkwardly when he slowed, and his acceleration was becoming more and more strained. He was reaching the point of exhaustion.

Inuyasha drew Tetsusaiga. "Shippo, Kirara, I need your help, both of you. And Sango, if you can heave Hiraikotsu at the right time, that'll help to. This won't be easy."

"What do you need?" Sango asked as Kirara stepped out from her side, with Shippo riding on the cat's head.

"Shippo, can your balloon form bear my weight upwards for a little while?" Inuyasha asked, not looking at the kit at all as he spoke, training his eyes on Himawari and Shunme.

"Of course," Shippo said proudly. "I'm getting better all the time at it."

"Good. I need you to give me a boost up in the air. I need to be on a level with Himawari. Kirara, I want you to tackle Hiuchimaru and get him out of the way. But wait for my signal, because I'm going to throw a Wind Scar at Himawari, and I don't want him caught in the crossfire, but I don't want her to get too much advance warning. Sango, I want you to throw Hiraikotsu right before I throw the Wind Scar. You know the signal, right?"

Sango nodded.

"I need Himawari distracted. If you can hit that youba with Hiraikotsu and knock it off kilter, that'd be great, but just throw that thing at her and get her attention."

Sango hid a smile. Inuyasha hadn't forgotten her warning earlier in the day that she wasn't sure how accurate she'd be with Hiraikotsu right now, with her body still recovering from Mukotsu's poison.

She was also quite impressed with the intricacy of this plan. It wasn't typical for Inuyasha to think a battle plan out so thoroughly.

"Why are you doing this?" Shippo asked. "Can't you just throw a Wind Scar from the ground?"

"That might hit one of the trees," Inuyasha said coolly. "And I really don't want to _kill_ Himawari, because I don't think that's what Hiuchimaru wants. I just want to incapacitate her. If she's as strong as she looks, getting nicked with the Wind Scar will knock her momentum out from under her, and maybe we can end this fucking stupid sibling spat."

Sango grinned. "Fancy you waxing eloquent about someone's sibling relations."

Inuyasha glowered at her. "There's a difference. I've never liked Sesshomaru, and he's never liked me. These siblings, though, they used to get along, I think. Are we all agreed on the course of action?"

At everyone's nods, Inuyasha signaled them to get a move on already. Kirara launched skyward and started cruising around the copse, keeping Hiuchimaru in range. Sango grabbed onto Hiraikotsu's handgrips and pulled the boomerang into position, her eyes locked on Shunme's chest.

Shippo transformed, and lifted Inuyasha up just above the canopy. The hanyou crouched down with Tetsusaiga at the ready, watching silently.

The combatants had circled the copse about five times before Inuyasha gave the signal to Kirara and Sango. The firecat stooped into a dive and slammed into Hiuchimaru, crashing him into the boughs of a broad tree. Sango hurled Hiraikotsu with a sharp yell, and was pleased to see that she hit her target, striking Shunme in the chest with the tip of the boomerang and knocking the horse out of momentum.

Then the Wind Scar ripped the air apart and struck Himawari almost dead-on.

For a moment, Sango thought that despite the care Inuyasha had taken to _not_ kill Himawari, that it had still happened, but then she saw horse and rider fall to the ground with a great crash. They probably weren't dead. Victims of the Wind Scar were obliterated, turned into dust and ashes.

It was clear almost instantly that Hiuchimaru was not overly grateful for the interference though. Though he said nothing, his furious glance at Inuyasha spoke volumes. Inuyasha received the furious look with complete apathy. He didn't give a fuck what Hiuchimaru thought, clearly.

Sango was the first to arrive on the scene where Himawari and Shunme had crashed. They'd taken out a few large branches on some nearby trees, but no trees had been knocked down.

Himawari had taken a heavy blow from the Wind Scar. Her armor was completely gone, obliterated in the blast, and across her naked torso and chest were four deep bloody grooves carved by the blades of the Wind Scar.

"She's going to be feeling that one in the morning," Shippo murmured as he settled on Sango's shoulder.

"I think she's feeling it now," Inuyasha said dryly. "And she won't be in any shape to fight you for a while Hiuchimaru."

The forest guardian stood up and strode over to stand right in front of the hanyou, who defiantly crossed his arms in blatant indifference.

"I did not ask you to interfere. While I'm glad you didn't kill her, I didn't really want to see her maimed either."

"She'll live," Inuyasha retorted. "And I only interrupted the fight because that bitch poses a threat to a member of my group. I've told you, you harm a hair on any of my friends' heads, and I'll cut you six ways to sunrise. The same goes for that bitch over there. She threatens a friend of mine, she pays the price. If you don't like it, Hiuchimaru, you can just go fuck a tree for all I care. I just saved your ass and you know it."

The blunt crudity of his words seemed to break the angry spell on Hiuchimaru. He chuckled at the irony and shook his head. "While I understand your rancor, I'll ask that you kindly refrain from suggesting such perverted ideas when in the presence of my children."

Inuyasha blinked at him, astonished. "What the fuck! Two seconds ago you were ready to rip my eyes out and now you're joking with me? Talk about fucking mood swings!"

Hiuchimaru gestured weary acceptance. "It's who I am." He then shrugged off his outermost kimono and approached where Himawari lay motionless, draping the fabric around her out of sheer prudence. Despite the fact that she had been trying to drive him into a killing rage, he still cared enough about her to cover her modestly and to treat her wounds.

"I'll never fucking understand you goddamn horse-bastards, I swear." Inuyasha complained.

* * *

**Author's afterward**: One more chapter to go! Oh god I'm looking forward to finishing this thing!

**Original Characters:  
Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru).**  
Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by the taijiya).**  
Himawari** (born Hanako): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature, and often serves as a messenger of sorts.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead.**  
Hiuchimaru** (born Hai'iro): (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei.**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) juvenile uma-youkai; son of Hiuchimaru and Ashita. The only offspring of Hiuchimaru.**  
Ashita** (born Moriko): (female) hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance.  
**Koe** (born Manatsu): (female) younger half-sister of Ashita; she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods.  
**Mimiko**: (female) hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru.  
**Kuroshima**: (male) previous guardian of the Eien no Mori; Ashita's sire. Deceased (cause of death undisclosed).  
**Meuma** (birth name unknown): (female) once-dominant female uma-youkai in the Eien no Mori. Mother of Ashita and Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Rengoku**: (male) a consort of Meuma. Sire of Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Shunme**: (male) Himawari's youba partner  
**Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental**  
**

enmaku : smokescreen


	30. Part Thirty: Forward Motion

**Author's Note: **I'd like to apologize for the length of time between updates from the penultimate chapter and this chapter; real life reared its ugly head. Also, I've been working sporadically on my original fiction. But mostly it's been my new position at work; I'm more tired when I get home from work, so I don't seem to have as much energy for writing. Also, my interest in Inuyasha took a bit of a dip in the past few weeks... but recent developments in the manga have sparked my interest again!

This story has been an amazing journey for me. It's taken on so many different turns and twists I never expected. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and helped me out. An epilogue may or may not be forthcoming. Thanks again, everyone! This swan song is for you!

One more thing, that came up out of nowhere (damn characters and their popping up at stupid times!) As far as I can tell in my research, crossbows were not used in Sengoku Jidai Japan, but they were reportedly developed in China thousands of years ago, so it's not out of line for Enmaku, who is supposed to be from the mainland, to have learned how to use one. For more information on crossbows, go to Wikipedia and search for crossbow.

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha does not, never has and sadly never will, belong to me. It belongs to the incomparable Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday and Sunrise. But I ruthlessly use it because Takahashi-sensei doesn't seem to give a crap what her fans do with the characters. XD If she did care, I would be very sad.

**Soundtrack**: (aka the stuff I listened to while writing this chapter) "I've Loved You Forever" by Laura Powers is what kept me on track with this chapter, weirdly enough. Go figure.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Part Thirty: Forward Motion**

The first two things Kagome noticed upon awakening were that her bed was extremely lumpy, and that she smelled animal hair.

_Aw, man, Buyo's been on my pillows again! I keep telling Sota to not let the cat in my room!_ She thought to herself as she opened her eyes --

-- and saw red.

Literally.

As in, red cloth. Right across her face. In an automatic reaction, she pushed the fabric aside, revealing a view of the forest canopy that was altogether too close for comfort.

That explained the lumpy "bed." And the animal hair smell was undoubtedly the fibers of the fire-rat robe that she had had draped loosely across her face.

"Easy," Inuyasha said lazily as he cracked open an eye at her. "Don't move around so much." His left ear twitched languidly as an insect buzzed around it. "These trees are magnets for bugs. Good thing you're awake. Did you sleep okay?"

"I... what happened?"

"Miroku said you collapsed after you finished healing Ashita. The _baka-uma _says you just over-exerted yourself." Inuyasha gathered her up and hopped down from the tree limb he'd spent the night on. As he landed, he set her carefully down, and she got a good look at the family clearing.

The clearing was largely cleared of the dead bodies that had littered the place last night as a result of the attack by the local uma-youkai. There was no burning pyre nearby, nor any telltale mounds of mass graves. Kagome looked over and saw why: Koe stripped the dead of their weapons and armor, then Sango dragged each corpse over to one corner where Miroku stood. The monk would then briefly unbead the Wind Tunnel and dispose of the bodies.

Only the decapitated form of Hekigyoku, the leader of the attackers, remained untouched.

Hiuchimaru stood silently, stoically, in the center of the clearing, his arms folded almost meditatively, his eyes closed. A weary breeze wandered through his chin-length flaxen hair. He had changed his clothing, Kagome noted abstractly, donning drab earthen tones rather than the blues and grays he'd worn yesterday. He also looked very tired, from the drawn, pale cast of his complexion.

Over by the most protected corner, well guarded by trees and rock outcroppings, was the stone-nest, where Mimiko slept curled up with her older brother. Kagome noticed a slight shimmering over the nest. _A barrier?_ she thought. _I wonder why?_

Then her attention was seized by the sight of Ashita, laying beside the stone-nest, appearing to be resting comfortably. Shippo sat beside her, nibbling on a snack. Kirara was in her kitten form and was curled up on a halo of Ashita's black hair.

"Good morning," Hiuchimaru said benignly without moving a muscle. "I trust you rested well, despite the caterwauling?"

"What?" Kagome blinked stupidly at the forest guardian, not realizing he was aware of them being there.

"That damned youba was raising hell all night long. I'm surprised either hanyou could sleep, with all the racket," Hiuchimaru smirked as he turned slightly, casting a long glance over his shoulder at his children. "Opaaru could sleep through an earthquake, I think, but Mimiko..."

Inuyasha indulged himself in a long, canine yawn. "I had Kagome wrapped in my fire-rat cloth. I think it blocked out the worst of the noise. And I smell a friction barrier over there," he gestured toward the nest. "Your little runt seems to be able to put up pretty good shields."

"Runt?" Hiuchimaru's left eyebrow arched in surprise. "You're calling him a runt? He's actually quite precocious, for being barely a teenager. But yes, he does put up very good shields. Friction barriers, however, are not soundproof."

"His might be."

"I'd be surprised if it is. It's rather detrimental to a prey animal to not be able to hear. Which reminds me..." He lifted his head and flared his nostrils, taking in the wind. "I don't smell the horses. Oi, kouma, wake up." He made a flick with his wrist, causing the barrier around the two youngsters to shimmer and dissolve slightly.

"I'm awake, Father." The colt sat up and stretched his arms, yawning hugely. "Did you need something?"

"Where are the horses? I haven't seen them for a couple of days."

"Mine is nearby," Opaaru said, standing up carefully so as not to disturb his sister. "He's rounding up the loose horses whose commanders died here."

"And the mares?"

"I dunno," the colt said lazily. Mimiko tipped her head and tilted her ears in inquiry at him. Opaaru nudged her with his foot in an affectionate big-brother sort of way.

Hiuchimaru physically turned around completely, doing so slowly and almost leisurely, but the effect was not lost on anyone. He eyed the colt sternly. "That," he said in a cool, distant voice, "is not an acceptable answer, kouma. Try again."

"Seriously, Father, I don't know. I think Mimi does, but she's not telling."

The hanyou in question perked up her ears and grinned mischievously.

They were interrupted from further bickering by a long, low moan issuing from underneath a dark brown woven blanket. Kagome briefly wondered who it could be, since she could account for everyone in her group, and everyone that she knew of in Hiuchimaru's family. But then the subject of scrutiny emerged, revealing a very pale-skinned female youkai. Her crystal-white hair tumbled down her shoulders and back in a messy array. It took a moment for Kagome to recognize this as the fleeting white demon she'd seen yesterday.

But closer inspection showed this creature was devastatingly injured. She wore a very loose kimono that was barely cinched at the waist, and there were four deep, grisly grooves across her torso. They almost looked like...

"Oh, look who's awake," Hiuchimaru said blandly. "I see you made it through the night, Himawari."

"Fuck you, Gray-eyes," the demon snarled, wincing as she stood. "Where's my horse?"

"I drove him out of the forest. He was raising hell all night long, making it hard for everyone to sleep."

Kagome started to approach the wounded youkai, but Inuyasha intercepted her, growling softly; "Don't even think about it. She'll kill you where you stand if you so much as try to touch her."

"Oi, Flint, what about this one?" Koe called from where she stood over the remains of Hekigyoku.

"Leave him. I want Ashita to see who led the attack against her. I think that that's the only way she'll really accept it."

"Fine then, the rest are taken care of. Might want to tell that monk to slack off a bit, I think he's going to wear himself out if he's not careful. That's one hell of a weapon he's got hiding in that glove on his hand, I might add. Looks like a black-hole."

Mimiko's ears twitched suddenly and she clawed at her brother's hakama in desperation. Hiuchimaru drew Kiribitou as he turned around, doing so in a very smooth, fluid motion, and just managed to block a swift barrage of steel-tipped bolts. Sango yelled in anger and sent Hiraikotsu flying at the attacker, who was mounted on a youba -- closer inspection revealed it to be Shunme himself -- and managed to knock one of the passengers off the youba.

The youkai hit the ground unceremoniously, dropping whatever weapon it -- he -- had carried. The weapon hit the ground and bounced, skittering along the dirt to slide to a stop at Kagome and Inuyasha's feet. Inuyasha picked it up and wrinkled his nose at it. "What the fuck is this weird thing?"

"It's a crossbow," Kagome said softly, recognizing its shape from studies she'd done in history classes.

"A what?"

"It's a Chinese weapon," she said. "I learned about those in class one year. My dad loved Chinese history, and after he died I always wanted to learn more, so I paid attention in those classes."

"Fascinating," the downed youkai growled in a deep, baritone voice. "Why are there humans here?"

"Why are _you_ here, is the more pertinent question," Hiuchimaru said coldly. He glanced over his shoulder at the location of his family. Koe had moved with inhuman speed across the clearing at the moment the attack had begun, and was now crouched protectively over her unconscious sister. Opaaru had grabbed up his little sister and was standing in the center of the stone nest, shields up. They were as safe as they could be, given the circumstances. He returned his attention to the intruder, who was standing up and dusting off.

The intruder had skin that was a strange maize color, sort of a golden brown but dull in luminance. His hair was black streaked with that golden brown and some white, and was caught up in a traditional queue. His eyes were, by contrast, blazing red. Not the red of a maddened demon; more like the color of an albino's eyes. It was an unsettling combination at best. He was clad in sturdy leather armor and had a standard katana at his hip.

"Enmaku!" Koe said in disbelief as she recognized the intruder. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Oh, look who's still alive! The little misbegotten mare. Enthralling reunion, I must say, but I'm only here for my mate."

"Took you long enough, Enmaku," Himawari said acridly, approaching jerkily, trying not to jar her injured torso. "Where's that runt filly?"

"She's with Shunme," Enmaku said as he pulled off a cloak and swung it around her. "I got knocked off by a giant flying something-or-other, but she's small enough that she ducked and it missed her." He got a good look at her, taking in the sight of her grievous injury with widening eyes. "What happened to you?"

"That hanyou over there unleashed something evil at me. I couldn't dodge it. Fascinating power, really. If I weren't so appalled by the very presence of a hanyou, I might try to learn from it how such a maneuver is executed. However, I can't stand the stink of dog-human."

"Who are you?" Hiuchimaru said coldly to the male, Enmaku. His eyes narrowed as he sized him up. "Koe recognizes you, but I do not."

"He's the sire of one of Ashita's earlier foals," Koe said bitterly. "He took Yume with him and left when the filly was still technically a suckling. He _used_ Ashita as a broodmare and took her foal away from her when she produced."

Enmaku rolled his eyes. "So speaks the maiden mare. Removing a suckling from its dam is not fatal to either the foal or the dam, as you ought to know but clearly don't."

Koe's fists clenched in hatred, but she remained where she was.

"When was this?" Hiuchimaru persisted, interposing himself between Koe and the other two uma-youkai.

"This was right after Kuroshima died, which means you had probably just been called by the forest. Ashita was already reeling from the loss of her father when this idiot decided to take her infant foal from her."

"I did not wish my daughter to be raised by a pair of frauds," Enmaku said loftily.

"Frauds?" Hiuchimaru raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know you, so I am in no position to judge whether or not you are a fraud, but I do know that that misbegotten maiden over there, and her pretty half-sister are both frauds. One claims to be able to speak to the dead, and the other claims to see the future. Neither one is legitimate; if you actually believe them, you are blinded by your affections for them."

"Stop calling her a maiden like that," Hiuchimaru growled. "You make it sound like she's incompetent because she isn't a broodmare. Besides, she isn't a maiden mare. The term we use is barren, and you ought to know that."

"Maiden, barren, it's the same thing in the end. She's never produced her own foals. Why do you care anyway? Look at her -- she's hideous and badly impaired. She hears and smells no better than a human."

Hiuchimaru closed his eyes and composed himself. When he opened his eyes again, they flashed with red sparks. With some effort, he sheathed Kiribitou and crossed his arms in feigned diffidence. "I don't see why that is any concern of yours. She's not _your_ mare, is she? I'll thank you to leave my mate's sister out of this; I think the issue is between my sister and I, not you, even if you happen to be my sister's current mate."

Enmaku's head tilted; "Oh, so _you _are the brother she's spoken about before." His expression was contemptuous. "You look like you have some strength to you. Pity you seem to want to let it go to waste. This is not, and will never be, a peaceful time. Judging by what I've been told by Shunme and from what I can see with my own eyes, your world is starting to crumble around you, too."

Himawari pressed her hand to her chest, flinching at a shooting pain, and then glared at her brother; "I've told you before that these mares would be the death of you. Look at you! Damn you, you uxorious bastard, you shame the memory of our mother with your weakness!"

"Go away, Himawari," Hiuchimaru said resignedly. "I've had it with arguing with you. I'm really not in the mood for this. Get out of here."

"Your wish is my command, O Great Guardian of the Forest of Eternity," Enmaku said mockingly as he gestured for Shunme. The youba descended to land right beside him, and he swung his injured mate up onto the horse's back. With a mocking salute, he swung himself up behind the other passenger, a black-haired teenager of a youkai. Before the horse took off, though, Enmaku produced a short whip and used it to wrestle his crossbow from Inuyasha's hands. "I'll be taking that back, thank you. I doubt you could figure out how it works anyway." Then he tapped the butt of the whip against the youba's flanks, and Shunme roared off into the brightening sunrise.

Inuyasha, pole axed by the speed of their departure, was still trying to work out Enmaku's insult in his head when a very soft, wet sob drew everyone's attention.

"He's still on about that, isn't he?" Ashita murmured weakly from where she rested. Her eyes brimmed with tears. "Enmaku hasn't changed a bit. He doesn't believe what he doesn't understand, and he calls it fraudulence."

"If anyone's a fraud, it's him!" Koe snarled. "Oh I wish I could have ripped those goddamn eyes out of his head! I'd wear them like beads in victory!"

"I hoped Enmaku and Flint wouldn't ever meet, for that reason. I just knew he'd never change," Ashita's eyes closed in resignation. "And I... I can't bring myself to hate him for what he did to me, for taking my little girl from me." She coughed violently, moaning piteously. "I can't hate him, even though I've tried. I want to forgive him. Himawari's right, I'm just a liability to you, Flint."

Hiuchimaru gently gathered her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. "The hell with what she said, Ashita; I wouldn't have you any other way. I need you to temper the rage I inherited from my mother. Contrary to popular belief, I do need you. Both of you. All of you. If I'm going to be anything like my father, I'll need your help. I can't do it alone."

Kagome silently cheered, thinking that the two of them were the cutest youkai couple she'd ever seen. (Not that she'd really seen too many youkai couples.) Seeing them this way made her inner fangirl squee with delight. She wanted to hug the both of them for finally figuring it out, too.

Inuyasha gave her a strange look and cocked an ear at her. "What's your problem, Kagome?"

"Nothing," she grinned. "I just think it's cute."

"What's cute?"

"Oh, nevermind. You wouldn't get it. You're too dense," she thumped him on the forehead affectionately. "You're just a stupid male."

"Hey, now, I resemble that remark!" Miroku protested.

"You would," Shippo quipped. "Speaking of stupid males."

"You're male too, Shippo," Sango pointed out. "A kid, yes, but a male one."

"I'm different, though!"

"That you are, runt! But not in the way you think!" Inuyasha mimed a swat at the kitsune. Kirara purred in feline laughter.

Ashita lifted her chin slightly and regarded Inuyasha for a long time with her liquid black-brown eyes; "I'm supposed to tell you about something. Nijimaru made me promise I'd tell you about it. I... I just can't remember it."

"_Who _made you promise?" Hiuchimaru's eyes dilated.

She glanced up at her mate; "Your father. He saved me. I think he helped the priestess in healing me... though from what I can't remember... and he guided me back from the land of the dead. He did it because he didn't want you to suffer too, he said. I'm supposed to relay a message to Inuyasha... I don't remember what it is though."

Kagome approached and knelt down beside Ashita. "You were shot with an arrow. A blue-fletched arrow with a flint head. Does that mean anything to you?"

"Blue fletching? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Ashita looked up at her mate in inquiry, and found her answer in his sad expression. "Oh god... I... Hekigyoku... How did it come to this?"

"I think he finally let his jealousy overrule his logic," Hiuchimaru said sadly. "I told Koe to leave his remains where they are so that you can see for yourself who shot the arrow that nearly killed you."

"The blue fletchings were enough. He never let anyone touch his arrows. Who killed him?"

"Koe did."

"Oh. Good. I don't want his blood on your hands, Flint. There's too much betrayal there. At least Koe never trusted him."

Koe shifted uncomfortably. "I only did it because he was a threat, Nee-chan. There's no way anyone could trust someone like that to not try something like that again. He had to die."

"I know, Koe, I know. I should have seen that coming. I should have known he was beginning to hate Flint. I should have seen it, and yet I didn't." She buried her face in her hands. "I really am a fraud!"

"Stop that, Ashita," Hiuchimaru said sternly. "Your ability to predict weather patterns is enough proof that you aren't a fraud. The future isn't cast in stone, after all -- no one can truly see the future in any given circumstance. Stop browbeating yourself over your Gift's limitations. Don't make me start listing my own downfalls. I really don't want to depress the hell out of everyone."

In spite of herself, Ashita giggled at that. Opaaru and Mimiko started crowding in on their parents, seeking affection from their mother.

Inuyasha crossed his arms in disgust. "Have you remembered what you're supposed to tell me, yet? This warm and fuzzy family reunion is cute and all, but my group and I have a rather important quest, and if you can help us at all in it, I'd appreciate it if you spit it out in a timely manner."

Miroku swore under his breath and smacked the hanyou with his staff. "Captain Insensitive strikes again," he hissed. "Cool it."

Ashita rubbed her hands over her face. "It's a vision I had. It's not like anything I've ever _Seen _before, and yet somehow it was real. I was stranded between the worlds of living and the dead. And this... this man, I'm sure he was a youkai, but he looked so human... he was speaking to another man, whom I'm sure was human, but he looked so much like..." she glanced at her son. "He looked like you, Opaaru. Except that you could tell that he was cruel and malicious. But the other man, he was... he was beautiful in the most terrible way. His eyes were red and hateful, and his hair was long and black. And now that I think of it, his voice reminded me of venomous spiders. So did his hair. It reminded me of spiders' legs and spiders in their webs. His voice was seductive but it made me feel violated and unclean... I couldn't understand what he said, though he said your name. And his body... in place of a body, he had an animal pelt. He looked directly at me, and I knew that he was playing with me, like a cat with a mouse. It's some form a game. He was taunting me somehow. And he said your name again. He knows you, somehow." She shuddered. "That's all I can remember. Is it enough? Does it help you at all?"

Inuyasha's jaw had fallen open, and even Sango and Miroku looked pole axed. Kagome blinked in disbelief at the description she'd just heard.

"_Naraku_!" Inuyasha hissed. "That fucking asshole, now what kind of game is he playing?"

"Who was this other person, is what I want to know," Sango said.

"Probably one of the Band of Seven," Miroku reasoned. "We haven't met all of them yet."

"Perhaps this was the leader of the Band of Seven," Hiuchimaru said pensively. "If I recall correctly, he's the one who would deal with the daimyos and shoguns, and delegate orders to the other six. I clashed with him and the snake-sword one last time they were around here, before they died. I seem to recall a rumor that the others were resurrected somehow recently, so that would fall in. I don't remember the leader's name, but I do remember that he's not very big, and he carries a giant halberd that's probably half again his own height. And he's very, very dangerous. He scared my father, as I recall. Father insisted that I not fight with that human again, that I stay safely protected by my forest. He said that that single human was far more dangerous than eight dozen uma-youkai on the warpath."

"Duly noted," Inuyasha said coolly. "That means that that Jakotsu bastard must be taking his orders from this leader. That's the one I'm going to take down first, then."

"Are you leaving us?" Opaaru asked, wide-eyed.

Inuyasha blinked in astonishment. Ever the eloquent one, Miroku came to his rescue.

"We have a demon to destroy. A very dangerous one. Ashita, your story tells us that we're on the right track and that all the things we've been speculating are indeed true."

Inuyasha snorted; "Yeah, and the fact that Renkotsu also said as much. Really, that story didn't tell us anything other than the fact that Naraku is watching us from wherever he is, which we already figured he probably was doing. And now he's fucking around with people we encounter. That means we'd better get out of here soon, or else he might do something worse."

The colt stood up, dusted off, approached them, and then bowed very deeply before them. "On behalf of my father and mother, I would like to extend my most sincere gratitude for all your assistance."

"I'm in your debt, Kagome," Ashita said softly. "I fear I'll never be able to repay the debt, either."

"I did what I had to because I could," Kagome said, shifting uncomfortably now that the focus was on her. "There's no need to... you know, proclaim a life-debt."

Hiuchimaru transferred Ashita to Koe's arms. "Take care of her and the foals. I'm going to escort these guests of ours to the borders. It seems that they've had enough of their sojourn and wish to continue their quest. It would be impolite of us to delay them." He looked pointedly at Inuyasha, who nodded firmly. He then looked at his son. "Kouma, I'm leaving them in your care. This time, Koe's with you, so no excuses. Keep your shields up."

Then, with a tremendous heave, he launched skyward and somersaulted into his transformation. With the giant spirit-horse hovering in the sky, Sango and Miroku hopped onto Kirara and rode up to land on the horse's shoulders. Inuyasha plucked Shippo up off the ground and swept Kagome up in his arms, then leapt up nimbly, landing on the wide back of the spirit-horse. Kagome and Sango waved down to the rest of the family, who waved back at them.

Opaaru cupped his hands around his mouth and called; "Good luck! I know you can do it! Oh, and don't drop them, Father!"

The spirit-horse snorted in good humor and started to weave his way amongst the trees, accelerating rapidly. This time he took them in a different direction from where they'd come from before, taking them northward. In about five minutes flat, they'd crossed most of the forest and had reached the northern border. The motions of slowing down were repeated as before, with the giant spirit-horse using the sky above the forest to circle in a wide arc, his momentum wicking away steadily.

After everyone had disembarked, the spirit-horse hurled itself into a somersault and emerged in his humanoid form again.

"This," he gestured, "is as far as I can take you. This is my boundary. Just beyond this hill, you'll see White Soul Mountain. Some call it a sacred mountain, but I don't think it's sacred at all. I don't know what kind of powers lurk beneath it, but I have a feeling it'll be important to you in some way. This mountain has been here for generations and has caused no shortage of grief for forest guardians. I wouldn't be surprised if your enemy knows about it too. I do recommend you at least investigate the mountain before you go on your way."

He bowed to them. "I thank you from the depths of my soul for everything you have done for my family. I only wish I could do more for you in repayment."

"You've given us the most solid lead on Naraku we've had since he disappeared on us," Kagome said optimistically. "That's more than anyone else has ever done for us."

"I hardly see it as a fair trade, a potential lead on an enemy in exchange for the lives of my family, but whatever suits you. And Inuyasha, I must thank you specifically."

"Eh? Why?"

"You give me hope for Mimiko. Seeing how strong you are, I cannot but hope that she will also be as strong someday."

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "Er, yeah. Okay." He muttered something about becoming stronger through adversity, and Sango dutifully smacked him.

"You take care of that beautiful mate of yours," Miroku said. "Or else Kagome'll come back and give you the what-for!"

"Hey!" Kagome put her hands on her hips.

"I can see it now," Shippo teased.

"She's always meddling," Inuyasha snorted.

"OOH! YOU--YOU MONGREL! **_SIT!_**"

_SLAM!_

Sango started choking on her laughter at the flabbergasted expression on Hiuchimaru's face after Inuyasha's faceplant into the dirt.

"Ow! Dammit, Kagome, did you have to do that now! Geez, you haven't abused me enough, have you!"

"Don't make me say it again!"

Sango approached the bewildered forest guardian, and bowed respectfully to him. "On behalf of my companions, I thank you for your hospitality and the trust you invested in us around your precious family."

He returned the bow. "Take care of yourself, Sango. And watch out for that monk. He's a crafty one."

"Oh, you have no idea!"

As the morning sun broke over the forest canopy, the team trekked forward toward the so-called White Soul Mountain, with the enigmatic Forest of Eternity and its charismatic guardian fading into the backdrop.

"That Ashita was certainly beautiful," Miroku said. "And she had an affinity for monks. Maybe I should try my..."

_WHACK!_

"--OW! Sango! I was just kidding!"

* * *

**Original Characters:  
Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru).**  
Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by the taijiya).**  
Himawari** (born Hanako): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature, and often serves as a messenger of sorts.**  
Midoriko**: (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Presumed dead.**  
Hiuchimaru** (born Hai'iro): (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei.**  
Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha).**  
Opaaru**: (male) juvenile uma-youkai; son of Hiuchimaru and Ashita. The only offspring of Hiuchimaru.**  
Ashita** (born Moriko): (female) hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance.  
**Koe** (born Manatsu): (female) younger half-sister of Ashita; she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods.  
**Mimiko**: (female) hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru.  
**Kuroshima**: (male) previous guardian of the Eien no Mori; Ashita's sire. Deceased (cause of death undisclosed).  
**Meuma** (birth name unknown): (female) once-dominant female uma-youkai in the Eien no Mori. Mother of Ashita and Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Rengoku**: (male) a consort of Meuma. Sire of Koe. Current whereabouts unknown.  
**Enmaku**: (male) a male uma-youkai from the mainland; current mate of Himawari; sire of Ashita's daughter Yume  
**Yume**: (female) a juvenile uma-youkai; daughter of Ashita and Enmaku; still follows her father and his current mate because she hasn't learned how to protect herself.  
**Shunme**: (male) Himawari's youba partner  
**Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental 


	31. Epilogue: Full Circle

**Author's Note: **This wasn't the epilogue I'd had in mind, because the epilogue I'd planned probably would've violated all terms of use, by not being story at all. I originally was going to do a list of things that I'd planned to do but didn't pan out, or things that changed. Then I thought about doing some outtakes, but they simply didn't work out. So, finally, I decided to tie up a few loose ends. And here it is. For what it's worth, the setting now is after the end of the anime, after Inuyasha and his group have been to the afterlife to retrieve the last shard, and after the plague of demon rats, and after Inuyasha had to use the last shard to break free of the demon that tried to digest them. If you don't recognize what I'm talking about, you apparently haven't seen the whole series and may be lost. This epilogue takes into assumption that you have seen or are familiar with the ending of the anime. If not, perhaps you shouldn't read any further until you have.

Also, I mention an analgesic that Hiuchimaru calls "boxwood" -- which is not a real herb, if anyone's wondering, it's just me being lazy and making something up. Since he's not human, one can assume that not all herbal treatments that would work on humans will work on him anyway, and his terminology could be different from normal terminology anyway. But in any case, there is no painkilling herb that I know of called boxwood. That's just what he calls the herb he uses. The same can be said for the plant called "liferoot." Also, there is no mountain called Reizan on Hokkaido, but neither is there a mountain on the main island of Japan called Hakureizan, so I don't think I'm being too out of line naming the mountain on Hokkaido however I like.

**Disclaimer: **Inuyasha does not, never has and sadly never will, belong to me. It belongs to the incomparable Rumiko Takahashi, Shonen Sunday and Sunrise. But I ruthlessly use it because Takahashi-sensei doesn't seem to give a crap what her fans do with the characters. XD If she did care, I would be very sad.

* * *

**Fireside Chats  
Epilogue: Full Circle**

The green-eyed demon pressed her hands together over a small handful of grass and flowers. Murmuring a trio of words, she closed her eyes and envisioned the outcome. Pulling her hands apart, she produced a small circlet of flowers woven together with the grass blades.

"Cute trick," her brother said. "Where'd you pick that up?"

"Mother taught me."

He grunted as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His arms were folded inside his sleeves, cradling against his chest something that was immensely precious to him.

"Mmm, Flint," a voice moaned from a few feet away. "I hate to bother you, but could you pass me the medicine bag? I feel awful again."

Hiuchimaru glanced down at his mate, stretched out in the grass next to him, her head pillowed on the flank of her recumbent black horse. Ashita was clutching her abdomen. His brow furrowed in concern, but his sister nonchalantly picked up the small leather bag by his feet and handed it across to Ashita. "Go easy on those painkillers. It's not good for the foal."

Ashita grunted as she took the medicine bag. "Duly noted, but the foal is probably the problem."

"All the same," the green-eyed demon said firmly, "don't take any stupid risks."

Hiuchimaru observed this wordlessly, reflecting idly on the past several months. He was deeply grateful for the safe return of his other living sister, the one who had for at least a hundred and seventy years had gone by the name of Midoriko. She was a part of his family and he was concerned for her, especially since she clearly had changed in the years of her absence. "Greeneyes, this isn't exactly her first time."

"I am fully aware of that," the demon, who called herself Kainashi now, replied. "In fact, it's more like her sixth or seventh. But unless I am much mistaken, she's never had this much trouble or discomfort before. This is considerably higher risk than any she's had before. That brush with death has cost her dearly."

"Hmm." Hiuchimaru looked away deliberately, returning his silent gaze to his son, who was sparring with Koe. It was still clear that the colt had a long way to go to be in her league when it came to hand-to-hand combat, but he had an excellent teacher. Koe had no peer in the entire uma-youkai society when it came to outright tooth-and-claw combat. She had never bothered to learn how to use a sword or knife, because she had no need of them. And, because of her devotion to her sister and, by extension, her sister's children, Koe was committed to teaching her nephew everything she could so that he would be able to defend himself and his family. The colt could not possibly have a better, more dedicated teacher.

"He's talented, you know," Kainashi said after a long pause, watching Opaaru as well. "You've done well with him. He's going to be a mighty youkai when he's grown. He'll probably be greater than any of us. Maybe even greater than our father."

Hiuchimaru smirked. "Careful, Greeneyes. If he hears you, it'll go straight to his little head."

"Oh, too late for that, Flint," Koe said, knocking the colt's feet out from under him. Opaaru went flying backwards, unceremoniously landing in a heap and skidding. "He's already full of himself."

"OW! Auntie, that was a dirty trick!"

"All's fair in a fight, pipsqueak. You were getting sloppy and careless. If I were a real enemy, I'd have your head by now."

Opaaru glared at her as he sat up and rubbed his ankles gingerly. "You keep saying that. Maybe someday you should make good on your threat."

Koe's eyes narrowed. "Don't get cocky, kid. I've been going easy on you. Kuroshima never went this easy on me."

"You were also an adult when he trained you, Koe," Ashita reminded with a soft laugh as she chewed on a leaf. "He didn't have to pull his punches then." She glanced up at her mate, who now knelt beside her, stroking her hair affectionately. "Also, there was no direct blood relation to get in Kuroshima's way."

"Kuroshima didn't give a damn about blood relations," Koe snarled, suddenly angry. "In the end, not even you mattered to him, Ashita."

"Enough, enough," Kainashi said mildly. "What caused the old guardian's death is none of our concern anymore. Let him rest in peace. I'm sure he doesn't think about anyone else anymore, wherever he is."

Ashita was looking away, her eyes vacant. Hiuchimaru frowned with concern, but held his silence.

Koe shook herself like a horse getting up from a good dust-roll. "Come on, kouma, are you going to laze about in the dirt all day?"

Opaaru stood up and dusted off. "If you'd stop tripping me..."

"I keep telling you, all's fair in a fight, you little blockhead! When are you going to listen to me?" Koe snapped. "You need to be prepared for anything, because if you're in a fight for your life, you can't count on your opponent to be fair! You saw what Himawari did to your father, didn't you? She wasn't trying to kill him, but she beat him within an inch of his life!"

Hiuchimaru snorted with laughter; "Hey, now, come on! Give me a little credit! I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and Himawari's ambush broke several of my ribs. You know how debilitating broken ribs are in combat! Not to mention, she's a hell of a lot faster than I am when she's mounted on Shunme!"

"And you still got your ass beat in by a female. One less powerful than you."

"I was protecting all of you, I'll have you know. And no fair calling her less powerful than me: she's stronger, faster and more agile than I am, and every bit as powerful. She's the taiyoukai among us, you know."

"Whatever. Now shut up and let me train your brat here. Come on, runt, you'll never get anywhere if you don't toughen up!"

Kainashi laughed softly as she stood up. "You've got a feisty one there, Grey-eyes. I don't think Father would have let one of his mares talk to him like that."

"Father didn't have other mares. He was a loner. Despite his true form, he really didn't have any of the uma-youkai traits. I don't understand why you seem to forget those kinds of details."

Kainashi shrugged. "I have a lot of blank spaces in my memory, a lot of holes where something has been lost. A side-effect of that accursed mountain, no doubt. I don't even remember what Mother's face looked like, and I know she's only been dead a little over twenty years."

"Twenty-three," Ashita murmured.

Hiuchimaru raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you know that? I don't think I ever told you exactly when my mother died."

Ashita smiled faintly. "You didn't have to. I heard the news. It wasn't long after Kuroshima died; you'd only been here a couple of years when you received word of your mother's death. My father died twenty-five years ago this year, so it's been twenty-five years since you were called here."

"Has it been that long already? Wow."

Ashita shifted, resting her head against her horse's shoulder. The horse grunted and shifted as well to accommodate the change. "You don't even remember when we came into each other's lives, Flint?"

"I just wasn't keeping track of how long it's been. I remember when it happened, just not how long ago." He smirked. "I am older than you, Ashita."

"Not that much older!" she retorted. "And you come from longer-living stock, too."

"My point exactly, love," he said, shifting the weight in his arms.

Ashita snorted; "I meant that your kind are slower to mature because you live longer. Therefore, though you might be thirty or more years older than me chronologically, you're not any older than me in maturity."

"That's brilliant!" Kainashi laughed. "Your mate just called you immature, Grey-eyes!"

"No I didn't!" Ashita responded. "That's not what I -- "

Hiuchimaru shook his head at their antics, and would have said something to it, but just then he thought he heard the squawks of an old friend of his family, a bird youkai called Traveller. He turned around, trying to track the sound. With Mimiko's hearing impaired because of her humanity, he had the sharpest hearing of anyone. And yet, because he wasn't physically within the forest, he had to strain to hear what went on within its boundaries.

Noticing his sudden apprehension, Koe instinctively halted her training of Opaaru, assuming a ready stance, prepared to attack or defend as necessary.

Then, from the trees came a crashing and _whup-whup_ing sound that was strikingly familiar. Traveller erupted from the canopy, barreling out of the trees, screeching his head off and flying as fast as his wings could carry him. Normally, the bird was comical to look at, brightly colored as he was, and his eyes tended to not line up. But his screeches weren't comical at all; he was scared. Something had attacked him.

"Dammit," Hiuchimaru growled in his throat as he wrapped several shields around Mimiko. She was going to have to stay with him, because he didn't want to reveal her right now. He had learned the hard way not to trust anyone that Koe didn't trust, particularly with his adopted daughter in mind. He couldn't trust Kainashi, who had expressed a marked distaste for the hanyou child. And he didn't want Kainashi to know about Mimiko's periodic bouts where her youkai hearing and appearance entirely drained away, leaving her essentially human. If Kainashi knew about these periods and knew when they happened, she could take advantage of that knowledge down the road. He was determined to hide the exact moments from her sight.

"Master! Master!" Traveller squalled, skidding into the leaf-litter and hiding behind Ashita. "Intruders!"

Hiuchimaru swore under his breath and gathered his power beneath his feet. He couldn't shape-shift with Mimiko in his arms, but he could self-levitate and get up to the level that Traveller had been at to see what happened. As he lifted off the ground, he could hear movement within the forest. For a moment, he cursed himself for leaving the borders. While the forest allowed him to exit it now, it wasn't very good about lending him its senses when he wasn't within its boundaries. But then he reminded himself that this forest had held him prisoner for a quarter of a century. He had to make the most of what freedom he could glean from the collapse of White Soul Mountain.

Suddenly, the trees belched forth a strange triangular-shaped object, whirling at high speed and arcing through the air with a familiar thumping. A giant boomerang. Hiuchimaru struggled to remember where he'd seen something like that, when suddenly the boomerang's arc brought it directly in line with him. He barely had enough time to swing extra shields around Mimiko before the boomerang struck him in the forehead. His vision swam red and gold and his senses exploded as he lost his grip on his levitation, crashing unceremoniously to the ground. He managed to twist and take the fall himself, cushioning Mimiko from being crushed.

Having struck a target, the boomerang's trajectory was altered, and on its return arc, it slammed into a tree and got hung up in the branches.

"Sango, you missed! You got it caught in the trees!" a young voice sang out cheerily.

"Oh shut up, runt! It hit something!"

"Keh! Sango, are you losing your touch already? I expected you to be good for a few years yet!"

"Zip it, you! I tell you, it hit something! The question is, what happened to the youkai it hit?" A firecat carrying two humans and a kitsune appeared above one of the trees as a red-garbed silver-haired inu-hanyou and his human companion appeared in the branches of another one.

"The youkai it hit now has a screaming headache, thank you very much!" Hiuchimaru yelled crossly, cradling his aching forehead with his free hand. "Why are you always throwing stuff at my head? If you're trying to crack it open, I promise you there's nothing of value inside it!"

"Hiuchimaru, is that you?" the demon-exterminator was the first to speak. She sounded bewildered.

"Last I checked, I was. Holy mother of earth, you got a direct hit. Bugger hurts like hell! Honestly, what's the big rush? Are you being chased?"

"No," Miroku said as the firecat landed nearby and he and Sango got off. "We're just trying to get back to, er, Kagome's home by a certain time."

Inuyasha snorted as he landed next to the firecat. "Keh! And we're chasing a thief who swiped something from us."

Hiuchimaru shifted a bit and made a sound in his throat that sounded like an unusual growl. Slightly alarmed by the growl, Sango bowed in apology. "I'm sorry about the... about Hiraikotsu hitting you; I didn't know it was you."

"Naah, don't worry about him," Koe said, coming up behind Hiuchimaru and thumping him on top of the head. "He's just being peevish. He's perfectly harmless, after all."

"Harmless!" Hiuchimaru grumbled under his breath. "I'll show you harmless!"

"He growls when he's peevish?" Shippo asked.

"Growl?" Koe said curiously.

Hiuchimaru snorted; "I didn't growl!"

"Sounded like it," Shippo said, landing on Sango's shoulder.

"I heard you nickering at the filly," Koe said, swatting Hiuchimaru affectionately. "Were you growling at them too?"

"I didn't growl, dammit! I was trying to calm Mimiko. She got a little spooked."

"I imagine she would," the mare said with a chuckle. "That was a rather abrupt change of events."

"Grey-eyes, who are these people?" Kainashi approached hesitantly. "Since when have you associated with humans? Aside from having your mate breed with one, of course." Her voice still hinted at her intense disgust and disapproval of the circumstances leading up to Mimiko's birth.

"Since they saved my family from a traitorous plot by one of my most trusted clan chiefs," Hiuchimaru snapped. "Now do me a favor, Greeneyes, and get me some boxwood. I can barely see for the pain."

Kainashi hesitated. "I think Ashita used the last of the boxwood I have on hand. If you can wait, I'll go gather some more."

"I need it. This isn't going away on its own."

"I swear, the two of you are going to get addicted to this stuff," Kainashi sighed. "Ashita, I'm going to have to wean you off of it, I think. Boxwood isn't good for foals. Not to mention how it affects liferoot."

"I don't need you to tell me how to take care of myself, dammit," Ashita snapped angrily. "I know what I'm doing. _You_ are the maiden mare here, Kainashi."

Kainashi's eyes closed as she turned toward the forest. "It isn't my fault I cannot create life. I am hard pressed to save it as it is." Then she disappeared into the trees without another word.

"Geez, Flint, she's insufferable lately," Koe complained. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"How should I know?"

"Um," Miroku said hesitantly. "Who was that? I've never seen her before."

"My other sister," Hiuchimaru said, massaging his aching forehead. "The one we thought was dead. Turns out she was imprisoned within White Soul Mountain, and when it collapsed she managed to escape. She's... she's changed since she was there. She calls herself Kainashi now. I think something terrible happened to her inside that mountain, but she won't say."

"White Soul Mountain? You mean Mount Hakurei?" Kagome asked incredulously. "How'd she survive that? I thought that any demon that went inside the barrier got purified out of existence!"

Hiuchimaru looked at her quizzically. "Come again?"

"You're talking about Mount Hakurei, right? The mountain that collapsed?"

"Hakurei... yes, I guess that's what the humans call it. The forest called it White Soul Mountain. I guess it's the same thing, though. Yeah, inexplicably, about a month or so after you all left us, the mountain just disappeared. One evening it was there, the next morning it was gone. I lost part of my forest boundaries when it collapsed, but the nexus of power underneath the mountain is gone, so the forest doesn't restrain me anymore. Oh geez, I babble like a fool when I'm in pain." He grimaced, his face contorting up in excruciating agony. "Ashita, did you really use all the boxwood? I could've sworn there were two doses left."

"No." Ashita moaned as she stood up. "But I figured it'd be a good way to get her out of here. I'll take Mimiko now; you've probably scared her half to death."

Hiuchimaru snorted softly even as he shrugged his yukata loose, revealing the toddler clinging to his torso. "She's not trembling. But yeah, take her." He unwrapped the shields from around Mimiko as Ashita approached and plucked the tiny girl up into her arms, murmuring softly and making those same bizarre growling noises. Mimiko grinned at her mother and snuggled close.

"Wait a second," Inuyasha said. "What are you doing? She's human now. You can't just go flaunting her human days around, you idiot!"

Ashita gave him a bland look as she handed a small medicine pouch to her mate. "And if you can tell me when her cycles are just from seeing her as a human once, you're a genius."

"What?"

"I don't know when your cycles are, but I know you have them, because of your human genetic code. The same is true for her. Her cycles are going to be different than yours. Seeing her human once doesn't mean you automatically know what it will be."

"All I have to do is see what stage the moon is at."

"The moon? What does the moon have to do with anything?" Koe asked, bewildered.

This struck Inuyasha dumb. "What?"

"So your cycles are determined by a certain phase of the moon, then, by your reaction." Hiuchimaru said, chewing on a dark green leaf from a type of plant Kagome was certain she'd never seen before. "Well, hers aren't. Every hanyou is different. That's why we are trying to keep her out of my sister's view when she's human. We don't want her figuring out Mimiko's cycles."

"I can smell the difference," Inuyasha said. "I'm sure you can too. What makes you think your sister won't be able to smell the difference as well?"

"Because she can't. Her sense of smell was impaired a long time ago. She has almost no sense of smell at all. She's been that way for as long as I can remember."

"And we try to hide Mimiko even when she's not human, so that Kainashi won't be able to get an accurate idea of when it happens," Ashita added.

"You don't trust your own sister?" Shippo asked. "Wow. You have a strange family."

Ashita made a startled noise in the back of her throat, and Koe burst out laughing. "Come on, little fox, you saw what his eldest sister tried to do to him!"

Hiuchimaru snorted. "I've learned the hard way what happens when I'm too trusting. I trusted Hekigyoku, and he nearly killed my entire family. I let my guard down around Himawari, and she beat me to a pulp." He glanced over at Koe. "She might not have a very good sense of smell or sense of hearing, but Koe is remarkably adept at reading others. Any time I've disregarded her warnings and her distrust of someone, I've been sorry for it. And now, with Ashita in so precarious a state, I can't afford to make any mistakes. This time, I'm not taking any chances."

"No chances, no chances, whatever you say, boss," a voice sang out as Traveller backwinged in and landed on Hiuchimaru's head. The bird warbled happily and pecked at the demon lord's hair.

Hiuchimaru grunted irritably and swatted at the bird. "Get off me, birdbrain."

"There it is!" Shippo cried just as Inuyasha reacted as well. "Little thief! **FOX FIRE!**" The kitsune fired a ball of blue flames at the bird.

"ACK! YIKES!" Traveller screeched, just barely missed getting hit with the fox-fire, and executed an agile maneuver that put him directly down the back of Hiuchimaru's yukata. The demon lord yelped in surprise.

"Hey! Get out, you goddamn bird-brained idiot! What the hell!"

The bird responded to the demand by burrowing deeper. "Fox-fire. I hate fox-fire!"

"Opaaru, grab him, will you? I'm liable to rip his beak off if I have to pull him out." Hiuchimaru wrenched open his yukata. Sango noted abstractly that he had a long scar across his torso, curving from his left hip across his stomach and up to his right shoulder in a crescent shape. It was an old scar, easily decades old, but it looked like it had come from a grievous, possibly life-threatening injury. It looked like the forest guardian had been carved open by a scythe or something, though with two healers in his family, it seemed strange that he had received an injury such as this and gone without proper treatment.

Giggling, Opaaru grabbed up the brightly-colored bird. "Silly feather-head! For a bird your age, you're such a coward."

"Good grief, Traveller, you are such a pain in the ass!" Hiuchimaru said crossly as he straightened his yukata and haori. He looked over at Inuyasha, on whose shoulder Shippo now sat. "What the hell is going on anyway? Why are you attacking my retainer anyway?"

"That little thief stole our breakfast!" Shippo said indignantly.

"And our Shikon shard, the one we went literally through Hell and back to get," Inuyasha said with a menacing scowl. "Cough it up, bird, or I'll make turkey-dinner out of you."

Traveller squirmed in Opaaru's hands. Hiuchimaru's expression hardened. "Traveller, do as he says, or _I'll_ rip your wings off. What the hell are you doing mucking around with the Shikon no Tama?"

"How was I supposed to know that's what it was? It was just pretty and shiny!" Traveller whined, squirming harder. Opaaru held the bird out at arm's length, to avoid getting clawed.

"It's probably in his gullet," Koe said, grabbing the beak. Traveller squawked indignantly. "I'll get it. The bird knows what I'll do if he bites me. What does it look like?"

"Like a stone-flower," Sango said. "But be careful touching it. It's a dangerous substance."

Koe pried Traveller's jaws apart and levered the bird's tongue up with her claws. Picking gingerly, she reached into the bird's craw and pulled out the jewel fragment. "Is this what you're looking for?"

"Yes it is," Kagome said, holding her hand out. "That's a very important fragment. It's the last known one. This means they're all accounted for. We literally went through Hell and back to get it."

"So you said," Koe said, dropping the fragment into Kagome's hand with a mildly disgusted look. "Ugh. Bird saliva. Traveller, you have the worst breath."

"Through Hell and back? What does that mean?" Opaaru asked as he let go of Traveller, causing the bird to fall into an undignified heap at his feet with a protesting squawk.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Inuyasha said dismissively.

"Try us," Hiuchimaru replied. "Unless you're not comfortable telling us."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no reason to tell you anything, _ baka-uma_. Besides, I think we've involved you and your family enough in our problems. If your mate is in such precarious a position, it's best that you forget you ever met us. Our enemy is still at large, and he has a habit of reusing those he's used before."

Ashita leaned against Hiuchimaru, who put an arm around her. "Do you mean that spider demon? The one with the animal pelt body, the terrible eyes and the venomous voice?"

"His name is Naraku, and yes, he is based on a spider demon," Miroku said. "At least, that's what we believe."

There was an uncomfortable silence as Traveller's squawking abruptly stopped. The bird eyed the monk suspiciously. The comical appearance melted away with the seriousness of his expression.

"Okay," Sango said. "I take it this bird knows who Naraku is?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Hiuchimaru said flippantly, nudging the bird with his foot. "Traveller gets that name for a reason. He's been everywhere his wings can carry him. He's even been to the Continent a few times."

"What do you want with Naraku?" Traveller said coldly, hackles raised and wings unmantled. His voice was high-pitched and parrot-like, but his tone was dead serious, and his avian eyes blazed with intensity.

"What else? To annihilate him!" Inuyasha retorted. "If you're in league with him, I'll take you out too, bird!"

"I'm not in league with him; I'd like to see that bastard taken down too. However, I doubt a hanyou like you could take him."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed and he curled his fists in aggression. "Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Hiuchimaru frowned; "Wait a minute, Traveller. How do you know about their enemy?"

"Naraku tortured two of your sisters, Master. One of them is dead, and the other one is as good as dead, in spirit anyway. If you weren't the same backwards moron your father was about retribution, you'd be after Naraku too."

"I have no reason to go after Naraku," Hiuchimaru snapped. "He hasn't come after me."

"Aye, you're just as bad as your father in that respect." The bird's voice then changed to a brassy, resonating voice that was surprisingly familiar. "_Vengeance doesn't rewrite history. It doesn't bring back the slain. All it does is beget more vengeance and hatred._"

Ashita blinked. Koe shook her head slowly. "Every time you do that, Traveller, it still catches me off guard."

"That was..." Ashita breathed. "That was your father's voice, Flint?"

Hiuchimaru, who looked like he'd narrowly escaped having a coronary, advanced swiftly and delivered a stern blow across the parrot's head. "Stop doing that without warning, you little bastard! You about gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh?" the bird said archly. "Are you afraid of your father?"

"Don't make me kick you," Hiuchimaru hissed between clenched jaws. "I'm _this close_ to doing it."

"Leave Traveller alone, Grey-eyes," Kainashi said from the edge of the forest. She held a small basket in one hand and a slim knife, an herbalist's knife, in the other. "You outweigh him by at least a hundred kilos." Traveller catapulted himself off the ground and in three wingstrokes was settling himself on her shoulder.

"He brings it on himself, the little shit," Hiuchimaru growled angrily. "Trying my patience when you know I have a short fuse, one would think you had a death wish, Traveller."

"Whenever I mimic your father, you get aggressive, Master," the bird replied. "Why is that? I thought you held your father in high esteem."

"Is there a reason why we're still here?" Inuyasha interrupted, looking irritably at his companions. Sango was picking pine needles out of the leather handgrips on Hiraikotsu, having retrieved the boomerang with some trouble. "We're just wasting time standing here watching them argue."

Miroku mimed a swat at the hanyou; "A potential lead on Naraku is worth the wasted time, don't you think?"

Kainashi audibly gasped and dropped the basket and knife in her hands. Her eyes grew huge in horror and she started to back away from them, but Traveller pecked her insistently.

Without warning, she slumped to her knees, covering her head with her hands, trembling and whimpering.

"You forced my hand," Traveller said angrily, turning his mismatched gaze to the monk. "I didn't really want to make her relive this, but it appears to me that you don't understand just what kind of monster that Naraku is. When you hear what he's done to _her_ -- " he snapped his wings open in such a way as to indicate the demon he was perched on " -- perhaps you'll understand."

Inuyasha's right hand went to Tetsusaiga's hilt in irritation; "Bird, _ you're_ the one who doesn't know what kind of fucking monster Naraku is. That bastard has done far worse things to me than he could ever have done to her!"

"Is that so?" Traveller asked. "Then I ask you this: by what name do you call yourself?"

"Huh? What the fuck does that matter?"

"She calls herself Kainashi."

"Yeah? So?"

"Do you not understand? _She calls herself 'worthless_.'She changed her name from the name given her by her mother, to a name meaning 'worthless.' Because she believes that is what she is."

The bird ruffled his feathers, visibly puffing up to make himself look almost twice as big. When he opened his beak next, it was not his own voice that came out, but the hypnotic, venomous intonation of Naraku himself. "_I cannot let you leave this place alive, but you are worthless to me. As you are now, you are not even worth enough to be added to my new flesh. Your powers of regeneration are useless to me. I will let you live here within this mountain, where you may stew in your despair and your worthlessness, until you resign yourself to your pathetic fate as fodder for my new flesh. Kutabarizokonai, I dub you now._"

Kagome noticed that the cadence with which the words were spoken was quite entrancing and deliberate, and to a weak mind, the intonation would be overpowering. She knew Naraku was clever with words, but this surprised even her. Of course, he _had_ convinced a sanctified monk to hold that purity barrier up around the mountain for him. Naraku was adept at convincing others to do his dirty work for him. But this?

While that sounded exactly like Naraku's voice -- and being that this Traveller looked like a type of parrot, he was likely capable of exact mimicry -- Kagome found herself doubting the veracity of the words. Was even Naraku clever and cunning enough to disarm this other demon with just a few sentences? How weak-minded was this Kainashi to begin with, if she could so easily be broken?

To her credit, despite the fact that she was reliving something that was obviously traumatic, Kainashi wasn't crying. She trembled, but her eyes were dry. She looked up at Kagome -- singling Kagome out of all those around her -- and held Kagome's gaze as she spoke. "He wasn't the first to tell me that I'm worthless. I have been called worthless by everyone I know, except for my brother. My own mother threatened to rename me 'Koppa.' My father abandoned my training when he decided I didn't have enough talent to be worth his time. No, Naraku wasn't the first to tell me I'm worthless. But it was enough. And when he started calling me Kutabarizokonai, I couldn't take it anymore."

Hiuchimaru cleared his throat. "Traveller, if you're trying to incite me into fighting this Naraku, you're wasting your time. I have a family to care for, and love my sister though I do, I cannot fight her battles for her. I also rather doubt I have the psychological constitution to combat such a cunning enemy. Can't you get Himawari to fight this battle for you?"

"Do I look like I have a death wish?" Traveller retorted. "Himawari would sooner feed me to her accursed horse than do anything I ask of her! But someone needs to destroy Naraku. He cannot be suffered to continue to exist."

"For that reason alone?" Inuyasha said, slightly incredulous but mostly pissed. "Because he hurt her feelings? _Give me a fucking break!_" He curled his lips slightly in a canine expression of hostility. "That's mild compared to what Naraku has done to us. I was pinned to a tree for fifty years, thanks to his tricks, and that's the mildest of what he's done to any of us. He also put that hellhole in Miroku's right hand. And in case you think your ego-beating is still worse, think on this: You horse idiots are a family-oriented species. You must understand what it means to lose everyone. Well, Naraku wiped out Sango's entire clan, single-handedly, not out of vengeance or anger, but simply because he _could_. Even now, he controls her brother and uses Kohaku against her. You can't fucking tell me that Kainashi, or whatever her name is, has had it worse off than anyone else Naraku has toyed with, because there _is no comparison_. If I'm going to feel sorry for anyone victimized by Naraku, it ain't gonna be some goddamn horse-bitch with self-esteem problems!"

Complete silence befell the group as Traveller stared at the hanyou in frank bewilderment. "Then the rumors are true? About the taijiya? That Naraku was the reason they were wiped out?"

Sango shifted uncomfortably. Kagome put a comforting hand on her arm. Miroku glanced over at her as well, his expression briefly betraying his concern for Sango. The exterminator put on a brave smile for her friends.

Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. "Kainashi, you're the last of your siblings I've met, and I have to say that if you're letting your bruised ego get the best of you, you really are the weakest of the lot. Your youngest sister was manipulated by Naraku from a distance via Shikon fragments and her own misplaced anger and hatred. She endured a living hell in a slowly rotting body because of Naraku. And your other sister? She took a direct blow from my Wind Scar, and survived, without the aid of a shield. I can only recall two others who have managed to do that. As for your brother, well, I dunno how strong he is, but he's got his head on right. He knows when to back the fuck down and get the fuck out of the way.

"It was your youngest sister who has impressed me the most, because she suffered the most. Next to what Kiniromaru suffered at Naraku's hands, your suffering is trivial, and your reaction is disgusting! If you're so weak-willed that being called 'worthless' by someone as pathetic and cowardly as Naraku can break you, then I should put you out of your misery, because you're doing nothing but causing more misery for everyone around you. Not to mention the fact that you're _really _pissing me off! "

He put his hand to Tetsusaiga's hilt and drew the blade slowly -- surprisingly slowly. The blade glimmered in the sunlight as he held it to Kainashi's throat.

"Just say the word and I'll end your suffering for you, if you're not strong enough to carry on."

Kainashi's eyes closed and for a moment it looked like she was going to ask for him to carry this through. But then her eyelids flew open to reveal iridescent irises that flamed with hatred and anger. She curled her fists and launched herself directly at Inuyasha, grazing her neck on Tetsusaiga's edge as she did so. She uncurled her right fist and slashed the hanyou across the face.

"You shut your mouth, half-breed. I will _not_ be pitied by such a lowly lifeform!" She snarled savagely as her claws raked his cheeks, drawing blood. "I didn't ask you for help or pity, so just stay out of this! Get out of here before I kill you!"

Inuyasha kept his cool, though he was clearly stunned by the mood swing. "You think you can kill me, Kainashi? Even Naraku can't kill me. Nor can Sesshomaru. I may not be immortal, I may not even be full youkai, but I'm as close to unkillable as you'll find! If you're going to make a threat, you better be prepared to _back it the fuck up!_"

"That's _enough_!" Hiuchimaru appeared between the two of them, pushing them both apart. "This is asinine! There is absolutely _no reason_ for you two to be at each other's throats like this. Now _stop!_"

Kainashi let out a feral roar of outrage and punched both fists into her brother's torso, sending him reeling back. "_YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!_"

Inuyasha growled in the back of his throat and pushed Kagome away; "Kirara, you watch over them. I don't trust this idiot horse-bitch not to hurt them."

Kirara roared her agreement and braced herself, her tails erect.

"This is annoying," Koe said with a shake of her head. "These fugues of hers are tiresome."

"She is Flint's sister, though," Ashita said. "He's sacrificed a lot to learn her fate. And given that he hasn't been on good terms with Himawari for the past couple of years, I think..."

"Flint's just too goddamn tolerant of her behavior, is the problem!" Koe retorted. "He's got no backbone with her! With either of his sisters! He let Himawari beat him to a bloody pulp, and he's letting Kainashi slap him around! This isn't the Hiuchimaru I'm used to, dammit!"

"Just let her threaten Mama, though," Opaaru said, "and you'll see he's not a pushover, Auntie."

"I never said he was a pushover, but he's taking too many punches for no good reason. She goes into these furious rages every day and pounds on him, and he never does anything to stop her. You'd think he was afraid she'd break! There's no damned reason for him to treat her like that!"

"There's a good reason, and it's one I don't think you'll understand," Ashita said tiredly, sinking to her knees. "Flint is letting her beat on him because she can't hurt him, and it helps her ease her anger. Kuroshima used to do it to you, though you didn't realize it. You never gave Kuroshima the credit he deserved. In his own way, he cared for you, and cared about you. In his own way, he loved you."

"Stop lecturing me, Ashita," Koe snorted.

Kagome narrowed her eyes when she noticed Ashita clutch at her chest in pain. _I thought I healed that wound, but it looks like it's still giving her trouble._

"Oh no," Ashita moaned, slumping forward until her forehead rested on the ground, both arms crossing her chest. "Not again, not now, not so soon!"

In her concern, Kagome forgot Inuyasha's warnings and darted across the path of the tangling youkai, skidding to a stop beside Ashita. "Ashita, what's wrong?"

The moment her fingers connected with the mare, she felt something lance through her, a sort of power she couldn't describe. It seemed to burn to the touch, burn the nerves in her fingers, though there was no visible damage. Her hand tingled afterwards. Momentarily, Kagome saw a gargantuan forest fire in her mind, the trees around her engulfed in huge tongues of flame, filling the starless night sky with smoke... Then something, a hostile presence that seemed to be feeding off Ashita's life energy, turned to her and demanded to know who she was.

Just as suddenly, the rapport was lost.

_What was that?_

"Flint," Ashita said, her breathing labored and coming in ragged gasps. "There's going to be a forest fire, started by lightning. I can't tell you where, because it's in the middle of the forest -- I can't see any landmarks. But I can tell you about when. It's at midnight... and I see the first sliver of the moon."

"That means it's tomorrow at midnight, since tonight will be the new moon," Opaaru said, before getting shushed by his aunt.

"How extensive is the damage, Ashita?" Hiuchimaru knelt in front of her, gathering her into his arms.

"A wide area, but... not out of control, that I can see. But it's... if you're not careful, it could take out your whole forest, it's wild enough to do that. Oh god, I hate these visions!" Ashita coughed and heaved as if retching.

"You stupid, no-good shit-for-brains!" Kainashi hissed angrily as she approached. "Brainless idiot, you're a hopeless lost cause!"

"Why you--!" Koe snarled, her posture changing to one of high aggression. Hiuchimaru was faster, though.

"Dammit, Midoriko, would you put a cork in it? You're not helping with this verbal abuse!"

Kainashi crossed her arms stubbornly. "And what do you plan to do when my supply of liferoot is exhausted? It's all I can do to keep her alive for the duration of this... this..." She seemed at loss for words for a moment, her mouth working soundlessly. "That plant was beyond rare, you know. When that mountain went down, so did the native habitat of the liferoot. All I have are my preserved stores of it. When the mountain collapsed, I had nearly a two year supply of it. I'm down to less than half that now. Every one of these little episodes requires a dose I would have otherwise given to her as a supplement, you know. That shortens considerably the amount of time she has left to live at this rate."

"You condescending bitch!" Koe exploded. "You know she has no control over these visions! Yet you talk to her like she's doing it on purpose! If I didn't think that Flint would stop me, I'd pound you into the ground until you couldn't get up again, and don't you dare think I can't do it!"

"The one you should be yelling at isn't me," Kainashi snapped. "It's him." She pointed accusingly at Hiuchimaru. "You, Grey-eyes, should have known better, given her condition. If you had waited, if the puncture had been properly treated beforehand, she wouldn't be in this vulnerable state. You knew about the puncture in her heart, and yet you still..." She fisted her claws. "You've pitted me in a losing battle trying to save her. If Father were still alive, perhaps his talent would have been enough. And then again, maybe not." She looked away, her eyes closing. "Regardless, you of all people should have known better, Grey-eyes."

Hiuchimaru remained silent through the whole tirade, but he didn't look like someone who'd just gotten a severe dressing-down. His expression was carefully neutral.

Kagome gingerly touched Ashita's shoulder, bracing herself for another shock, but nothing happened. "Ashita? Is there something wrong with you? Just now, when I touched you, I think I might have seen what you saw. And I felt another presence. Something... I don't know... parasitic."

"Parasitic?!" Ashita sputtered. Koe's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Parasitic, eh?" Kainashi looked at Kagome with an appraising eye. "I think I like you more, priestess. You are very perceptive. Parasite is a very good description of what plagues her. It's a life-form that is leeching her life-force from her, mercilessly. With that wound to her heart, she can't maintain her life-force power like a normal youkai, so she's already compromised, and now this. And even better is that that parasite was put there by none other than her own mate."

"Kainashi!" Koe roared, lunging for the green-eyed demon. "I'll rip you apart, you worthless pile of horseshit!"

"_STOP IT THIS INSTANT, KOE!_" Hiuchimaru's voice boomed like a clap of thunder, and Koe froze in her tracks. The outburst brought all attention to him, and even Opaaru looked intimidated by his father's sudden show of anger.

"Stop this nonsense," the hogosha youkai continued in a brassy, multi-tonal voice. He raised his eyes to Koe, and Kagome noticed a significant change in them; they were shimmering and iridescent rather than their usual stone-gray. It was eerily reminiscent of Nijimaru's eyes, or Kiniromaru's eyes when she had been mad with pain. "I will not tolerate one more outburst from _any_ of you! This is not the time or place for this!"

Koe backed away, her eyes widened. She was clearly submitting, by the look of surprise -- bordering on horror -- on her face. Kainashi didn't look quite as convinced, but she held her tongue and proceeded to fish around in a small pouch belted at her waist, presumably a pouch full of medicinal herbs. As she searched, Traveller hopped onto her shoulder again, curiously resting his beak on her head in a bizarre display of affection.

Kagome turned to Ashita; "This parasite... I can probably get rid of it for you."

Ashita gasped in horror and threw her arms out, hitting Kagome in the shoulders and sending her reeling back. "You stay away from me, if that's what you mean to do!"

"Parasite," Hiuchimaru snorted. "I suppose I can see your point, since parasites live and grow off a host. However, they are unwanted, unwelcome passengers. This is not the case."

Kagome blinked, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

Hiuchimaru eyed her pointedly after a moment. "What I am saying is, she is not 'infected' with a malicious parasite. She is in-foal."

"In-foal?" Inuyasha repeated, the meaning of the phrase completely lost on him. Meanwhile, Kagome worked her mind around the term and realized what they were saying.

"Oh. My. God." She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror as her face flushed bright red. Immediately, she dropped into a groveling bow. "I'm so sorry, Ashita! I didn't mean to offend you!"

Miroku looked like he'd been hit upside the head with his own staff as he came to the realization of what was going on.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha griped. "What's going on? What's this bullshit about parasites and in-foals?"

"I think that Hiuchimaru is saying that Ashita is pregnant," Sango said in a low voice to Inuyasha.

"Baka-brained broodmares," Kainashi said acidly as she pulled a strange brown plant from her pouch and held it up to the sunlight. "I really shouldn't give this to you, Ashita. Not with boxwood fresh in your system. Such a waste of a perfectly good full dose." She sighed. "Oh well, can't be helped."

The green-eyed mare then clenched the plant in her fist tightly, and her hand glowed a strange blue-green for about five seconds. Then she approached Ashita and knelt down next to her brother. Ashita sighed and tipped her head back, as if exposing her throat to Kainashi. Kainashi, for her part, rolled the crushed plant into a ball and stuck it none-too-gently into Ashita's mouth.

"And you call yourself worthless," Hiuchimaru said finally. "Perhaps now you understand why I refuse to call you by such a name. Without you, she would have died some time ago."

Kainashi sighed. "And yet I can't heal her. I can only postpone the inevitable, in the hopes that this foal will make it through. The location of that puncture is such that all the liferoot in the world can't fully restore her."

Hiuchimaru sighed as well. "Hekigyoku was a marksman with a bow and arrow. It's pure dumb luck that he didn't hit her square in the heart. I can only assume that he meant to hit her directly in the heart. He was a traitor, but he did love Ashita, and resented me because of it. I can't imagine that he would have wanted Ashita to suffer physically. Otherwise, why would he have used his best arrows?"

Kagome trembled. "You mean... I wasn't able to...?" Tears pooled in her eyes. _I thought I saved her! _"I wasn't able to save you, Ashita?"

"It's alright," Ashita said gently. "I still have time. You gave me that, Kagome. I still have time to raise my foals and produce one last one."

"I don't understand how this works," Miroku said, kneeling beside Kagome. "I thought Kagome fixed the injury?"

"She extracted the arrow and repaired the damage to the physical muscle," Hiuchimaru said. "But there's another 'heart' there, if you will, in all youkai. Our life-force energy resides in a pocket, usually located around the physical heart. Damage to that 'heart' can be fatal. If there is a big enough rupture, the life-force can't be maintained. In her case, the rupture is small, but it leaks constantly. Think of it like a punctured lung. No matter how hard it tries, air still escapes it, and it can't work efficiently. If the puncture is big enough, the lung collapses and is unusable."

Kainashi ran her fingers through her hair. "This plant, called liferoot, is an extremely rare plant that is highly poisonous to humans but to upper-level youkai, those with human-like forms, it can be a powerful healing plant. It boosts the life-force's regenerative capacities, particular in the heart area, where the life. Unfortunately, the plant is most potent when it is fresh out of the ground. It loses potency over time. The only places I've seen this plant growing are on a mountain on Hokkaido, which is very difficult to get to and quite zealously guarded by some tyrannical youkai, and Mt Hakurei. Since the mountain collapsed, all I have are these preserved ones."

"So," Miroku said, starting to comprehend, "you give her this plant in regular doses to heal the injury?"

"No," Kainashi shook her head. "Rather, I give it to her in regular doses to prevent the injury from deteriorating and the rupture from widening. The more she uses this power for these visions, the more strain it puts on her 'heart' and on the life-force flowing through her. It's bad enough already, but with a foal developing in her womb, that's also taxing her life-force quite heavily. Which is why I say you're a fool, Grey-eyes. You should have known better than to get her in-foal when she's in this kind of condition."

"Ahem," Miroku said. "You know, they say it takes two to tango."

"Tango?"

"In other words, I imagine this was a mutual decision. I don't see Hiuchimaru forcing his mate to do anything. So this was either an accident or a mutual decision."

"Wasn't an accident," Kainashi snorted. "Not with our family history. There's a reason why Himawari is over a hundred and fifty years older than me, and why I'm a hundred years older than Grey-eyes, who's three-quarters of a century older than Kiniroko. And why only one of the four of us has actually procreated. No, this was no accident. When fertility is as low as our kind seem to be plagued with, foals are born of exhausting preparation. I'm rather stunned, frankly, that you succeeded in conceiving again this soon after your first one, Gray-eyes. It took our mother a century and a half to get in-foal again after Himawari."

"That," Hiuchimaru said irritably, "is immaterial. The monk is right, it was a mutual decision. And it wasn't my idea. I would've been content with only Opaaru to carry on my lineage, but Ashita insisted."

"Such is the fertility legacy of the infamous Meuma of the Eien no Mori," Kainashi sneered. "That crazy broad is still dropping foals, I think. She could repopulate the whole of Japan by herself with just a few males, I'll wager. I hear her daughters are every bit as fecund."

Ashita shifted in her mate's embrace and stretched her arms experimentally. "It's not that simple, Kainashi. Koe is one of Meuma's foals, and she is as barren as you."

"Is she? Or is it that the only male she's bred with has such low fertility as to be sterile?"

"I will remind you," Hiuchimaru growled, "which of us has procreated. Who the hell are you to criticize my fertility?"

"Good grief, give it a rest!" a voice called from overhead. "You two are at it again? Don't you ever stop?"

Sango trembled when she heard that voice. It took her a moment to recognize it, but when she did recognize it, her blood ran cold with memory. From over the trees of the nearby forest appeared the flaming form of a moderate-sized youba, a fiery-white horse-like apparition whose mane and tail flickered as though they were flames themselves.

The speaker was Himawari, the oldest of the uma-youkai siblings, and the most dangerous. She had flipped out at Hiuchimaru and beaten him severely, breaking several of his ribs and running him ragged in her outrage. It had taken Inuyasha's Wind Scar to knock her out of the fight, and she had taken a nearly direct blow from the attack, and had survived with largely superficial injuries. She was beyond tough, but she despised humans, and her distinct hatred for the taijiya made her doubly perilous for Sango.

Inuyasha's grip on Tetsusaiga tightened momentarily, and the blade began to glimmer with diamond crystals. "Her again, eh?"

"Ah, you again?" Traveller squawked, echoing Inuyasha's sentiment but with a healthy dose of fear and apprehension.

Himawari smirked and reached back, looking like she was reaching for a weapon in her belt. Inuyasha, remembering their last encounter, decided to get the jump on her. He leaped upward, banking off Kirara to give himself some arc, and fired off his newest attack. "**ADAMANT BARRAGE**!"

Himawari yelped in surprise and, with lightning-fast reflexes, leaped off Shunme to avoid the attack. Shunme, for his part, canceled his levitation and plummeted several feet before recovering his flight, in order to dodge being impaled. Himawari, meanwhile, grabbed two of the diamond spears out of the air as they passed her. Banking off a tree-trunk, she launched herself straight at Inuyasha, and her speed was such that she caught him entirely off-guard. The taiyoukai mare body-slammed him to the ground, and she crossed the two diamond spears at his throat.

"Oi, half-breed," she snarled, "I didn't come here for a fight. I came here as a favor to my sister, but if you insist on attacking me, I won't hold back. And just so you know, you won't be getting the upper hand on me again like you did last time. That same trick won't work on me a second time." She twirled the diamond spears in her hands and pressed them against Inuyasha's throat aggressively. "So, what's it going to be? You wanna fight me? You won't come out so nicely as you did last time, I guarantee you."

"Stop it," Hiuchimaru snapped. "I'm tired of this fighting. Knock it _off!_"

Inuyasha brought an arm up and pushed Himawari off him. "You leave my friends alone, and I'll leave you alone."

Himawari narrowed her eyes at him and twirled the diamond spears again in her hands, before she hurled them into the ground like a pair of spikes. She tossed her head like a horse and reached back into a pouch belted at her hips.

"Kainashi," she said, eyeing her sister, "here. This is for you. Rumor reached me that you need more of this. I harvested what I could while we were on Hokkaido." She tossed a small leather pouch to Kainashi. "Enmaku said he's pretty certain there's some of that on a mountain on the continent, so I'm going to investigate. He saw it last time he and the runt went there for her training."

Kainashi opened the pouch and pulled out what was inside, and her green eyes grew huge. "This is... this is liferoot! You were able to get to the sacred mountain Reizan?"

Himawari scoffed and puffed out her chest. "Of course. I think you'll find it'll last you at least six months, which is about how long it'll be before I can get back to Hokkaido for another harvest. But be careful with it, Enmaku and I both incurred some injuries getting that. That mountain is becoming bloody dangerous. It's teeming with youba now that Entei is gone. They started gathering when he got sealed, but now that he's completely gone, they've really gone crazy."

"How did you know about this?" Hiuchimaru asked, suspicious. "How did you know where to look for it?"

"Huh? Just who exactly do you think you're talking to?" Himawari arched an eyebrow at him. "Who do you think first showed that plant to Kainashi? If anyone can find liferoot, it's me!"

"Why are you doing this?" Koe asked, her voice laced with suspicion even heavier than Hiuchimaru's. "Last time you were here, you were ready to kill us all."

"I was _not_. I was angry and I let my temper get the better of me. And no thanks to that runt of Enmaku's, I've been swimming in guilt lately, so I thought I'd try to recompense for it. I can see you're really grateful, too."

Ashita tensed. "Runt? You mean his daughter Yume?"

"Yeah, you know her, eh?"

"Of course I know her. I'm her mother," Ashita murmured, her hands trembling as she gripped her mate's clothing. "He took her away from me when she was only a few months old. Said I was a bad influence."

"Eh?" Himawari's light-grey eyes widened. "Oh, _that_ explains his bitterness!"

"Huh?"

"No wonder Enmaku denounces you so vehemently, Ashita. He probably felt threatened by you. He keeps going on and on about what a fraud you and Koe are, something that has never sat right with me. I know that Koe's voice is far-reaching, and I've never known her to claim it to reach to the land of the dead, but I wouldn't be surprised if it can. That was Kuroshima that said that, if I recall correctly. And I've been around prescient youkai before. You're not the only one with a vision toward the future. It's more of a curse than a blessing."

Ashita heaved a sigh; "You could say that. Flint, I think I can stand now. I feel a lot better now." Hiuchimaru nodded silently and stood up, helping her to her feet. Mimiko still clung to her mother's torso, tucked in between the silk of Ashita's kimono and the cotton yukata underneath.

"Phew," Himawari said with a wrinkle of her nose. "Wind changes are ill blessings sometimes. So, your spawn is human now, eh?"

Hiuchimaru narrowed his eyes, and he brought his hands together in a bizarre hand-gesture, activating a shield around his mate. "Back off," he growled. "You come within ten feet of her, and I'll rip you to pieces."

"I'd like to see you try, Grey-eyes." Himawari rotated her shoulders idly as if trying to work out some kinks in her joints. "You don't have what it takes to kill me. You're too soft. You might be strong enough in power and body, but you could never harden your heart enough to kill me."

"Didn't say I'd kill you, did I. I said I'll rip you to pieces, and I mean it. It would be meaningless to kill you."

"So what is Yume doing that's making you 'swim in guilt' as you say?" Koe interrupted.

"She projects dreams," Himawari said. "Hence her name. Apparently Father is pissed with me. He's been pestering her relentlessly, and she's been projecting onto me." She shifted uncomfortably. "There's nothing like getting dressed down by a dead old man when you're trying to sleep. Pretty hard to get any rest that way."

"I wonder what his spirit looks like now," Kainashi said with a chuckle. "Vain old bastard that he was, you'd never guess he was mere decades away from dying of old age. And if I recall correctly, he always changed his hair-color to match his favorite mount."

Himawari snorted. "His name meant Rainbow. You think he wasn't infatuated with color and vanity? Remember, he named himself."

Kainashi stiffened. "No, I don't remember that. I barely remember what he looked like, except that he had rainbow eyes and could mold his appearance subtly to disguise his age."

Finally, Hiuchimaru succumbed to his anger and drew his blade, striking a spark as he did so, but managing to contain it. "Himawari, I don't know why you're still here, but considering your previous actions, I'll thank you to get away from my family. _Now_. I'm not in the mood to put up with you."

"Aww, so I'm not part of your family anymore, eh? And you're never in the mood to deal with me. Well, whatever. I have bigger and better things to do. Just don't you forget who's got your back, Grey-eyes! You think I don't know what Kainashi's using that liferoot for? She doesn't need it herself, so it's for one of you clowns, and I can guarantee it ain't that little spawn. Liferoot would kill her. I can guess who is using it. It doesn't take much brain exercise. Shunme!" She looked up over her head for her mount. The youba swung down to hover right over her and she leaped up onto his back. "Let's go. We've got a long trip ahead of us. Oh, and Kowairo!" She looked down. The bird, Traveller, responded with a start. "Watch over my sister, or I'll have to pluck your feathers. _Ja na_!" With a cocky salute, she and Shunme rose up and zoomed off over the trees, out of sight.

"Kowairo?" Opaaru repeated the name awkwardly. "Voice mimicry?"

"I hate that name," Traveller muttered. "Your grandsire gave it to me, Opaaru. I wasn't out of the egg but half a year when he gave it to me, and it stuck. I prefer my name of Traveller."

"Which grandsire?" Opaaru tipped his head. "I have two, you know. Of course, I never met either one."

"My father," Hiuchimaru said. "Traveller was a retainer of Nijimaru's long before he was ever mine or Midori's. Opaaru, you've met Nijimaru, you just don't remember him; you were quite young, not much older than Mimiko is now. And, Traveller, he gave you that name for a reason: because you _can_ mimic voices, to such a precise degree. He didn't mean anything untoward by it."

Kainashi was looking bewilderedly at the small pouch in her hand. "I can't believe Himawari did that for... for us... Father must really be a fearsome beast in the afterlife if he's intimidated her enough to do that. I hope he doesn't get angry with me and do something like that to me!"

"You give her far too little credit, Greeneyes," Hiuchimaru said as he sheathed Kiribitou and flipped a latch on the scabbard. "She's unstable with her moods, but when she feels charitable enough, she'll go to the ends of the earth for someone, just to be nice. My main concern with her around my family is how swiftly her moods can change from benign to violent. I'm not as concerned about Koe and Opaaru as I am about Ashita and Mimiko." He turned slightly, eyeing Koe as he did. "Now do you see what I mean when I say Himawari is better than me? There's no way in hell I could have dodged those... whatever they were. Nevermind grab a pair of them and go on the offense. If she weren't so unstable and arrogant, I think you'd do well to spar with her. I think you could learn a few things from her."

Ashita heaved a gusty sigh. "Our lives have become far too interesting, you know that, Flint? Bleh!"

"There's a saying on the Continent," Traveller said brightly. "They say it's a curse: May your life be interesting."

Opaaru rolled his eyes and hurled a rock at the bird. Traveller managed to see the rock coming and just barely dodged it with a loud squawk of indignation. However, his squawk startled Kainashi, who peevishly swatted the bird off her shoulder with a loud slap, sending the parrot-like youkai into a nearby sapling.

Koe languidly stretched her arms and back, yawning as she did. Her ability to change moods as a situation required was impressive -- she went from easy-going and laid back to hostile and defensive in an eyeblink if a threat emerged, but once that threat was gone, she relaxed again. Hiuchimaru chuckled a bit at her mannerisms and turned to his visitors.

"Where are you headed? I assume you're just passing through."

"A village on the outskirts of Edo," Miroku replied. "We're kind of running out of time too; we want to be there by nightfall, and it's a long way."

"How long will it take you?"

"A good six hours or so."

"Edo, eh?" The forest guardian glanced off to the southwest, the general direction of Edo. "Well, if you can spare a little time to rest, give me about half an hour to recover my strength, I can give you a ride at least half the way in about an hour or less. Can't guarantee to be able to go any further than that, but I can at least get you about half the way there in less than half the time it would take you to get that far."

"And why would you do that for us, _baka-uma_?" Inuyasha's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Er," Hiuchimaru clearly wasn't expecting that question. "Two reasons: one, because you are friends and I can probably help you out; and two, because I'd like to know just how far from the forest I can go before it yanks back on the leash. I know I can get to the outskirts of the Niji no Mori, which is about halfway between here and Edo."

Kirara purred at the suggestion, a clear indication of her fatigue after several days of hard travel and battle. Inuyasha glanced at the firecat and sighed. "Yeah, I suppose it can't hurt."

"What is this, anyway?" Ashita's brow folded up in concentration as she moved her hand to hover just inches from Kagome's face. "That has to be the weirdest barrier I've ever seen, and I can't believe I never noticed it before. Flint, have you seen this?"

"What, the way time moves around her? Yeah. Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"Impressive?" Ashita raised an eyebrow at her mate. "Hardly. It means she's not from this dimension, or time period. She's... oh my, yikes." Ashita withdrew her hand, pressing it instead against her forehead. "Oh there goes the liferoot again, giving me strange visions. I hate when it does that."

Kainashi snorted. "A plant as strong as liferoot has side effects, of course. It's trying to repair your heart of power; of course it's going to trigger stuff, especially when you have too much boxwood in your system already."

"Eww!" Opaaru clapped his hands over his face. "What is that awful smell?"

Hiuchimaru grimaced, as did Ashita. Shippo and Kirara both looked slightly disgusted. Shippo covered his face with his little paws, and Kirara's ears swept back into a feline expression of annoyance.

Kagome looked over at Inuyasha in bewilderment; he normally had the sharpest sense of smell and responded first to weird scents. Why wasn't he...? _Oh no! I forgot! It's the new moon tonight, which means he's already losing his enhanced senses!_

Apparently, Kagome wasn't the only one to notice this. Koe crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes; "Oi, why aren't you reacting? Don't you have the bloodhound nose of your group?"

"Why aren't _you_ reacting? You're a horse demon, aren't you?" Inuyasha retorted, caught off guard by the unexpected twist.

Koe snorted. "Are you serious? Haven't we already established that I have a lousy sense of smell and hearing? That's partly why I'm unofficially ostracized from the main herds, why I have to tag along with my sister and her family: because I'm considered useless to most herds. My sense of smell is no better than a human's, and my hearing is no better except at close range."

"I see," Ashita said, her expression becoming more and more grave. "That explains quite a bit."

"What?" Kagome felt her throat go dry. She had a sinking feeling she knew what Ashita was talking about, though.

"My Sight is fragile," the mare said by way of reply. "But there are some things it can always pick up. Immutable things. Things that happen regularly, regardless of circumstances. I can tell you exactly when the sun will rise tomorrow, or the next day, or the next... in fact, I can tell you the exact time of sunrise or sunset for any date in the future. I can tell you exactly when the next solar or lunar eclipse will happen. Or meteor showers. Events that happen at exact times, and are independent of mitigating circumstances, I can see those. Events that are triggered by these cosmic events are, likewise, something of an open book to me. The trick is, in most cases I don't bother to notice them unless they're within 24 hours of occurring."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "So you're saying that you can see..."

"In your case? Yes."

"Huh?" Shippo tilted his head, hands still over his nose.

Inuyasha reacted in typical fashion, and Kagome just barely caught on to what he was planning to do in time to stop him. When the hanyou crouched to lunge at Ashita, Kagome barked out a sharp "_**SIT BOY!**_" to stop him.

_Slam!_ Inuyasha went nose-first into the ground.

"Why you... who's side are you on, anyway?" he raged from the dent he'd made in the ground.

"Don't you lay a finger on her," Kagome snapped, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Hiuchimaru had moved to stand in front of his mate, his claws extended and his right hand hovering over Kiribitou's hilt. Koe was likewise poised to attack or defend. "You are such a moron, Inuyasha. How can you even think of attacking her?!"

"Dammit, she's going to blab my most guarded secret, and you're on her side? What the hell?!"

"Did I even say anything about 'blabbing' it?" Ashita frowned. "I could tell from the outset today what it was. But you'll notice I never said anything about it earlier? Just as I won't tell you when Mimiko's cycles occur, so will I also not reveal your own triggers."

"What was that?" Opaaru's eyes had grown huge as he stared at Inuyasha, still prone on the ground. He looked over at Kagome. "How did you do that?"

"It's an incantation that an old priestess gave me, to control him. He tends to get a little out of hand."

"Bah, that smell is getting worse," Hiuchimaru grumbled, covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his kimono. "Whatever it is, it's getting closer."

"Oh my," Koe added. "Now I can smell it. It smells like..."

"Horses," Shippo said. "It smells like stinky, sweaty horses."

"Well," Opaaru admitted, "I smell horses, but I also smell... dragon droppings. It smells like horses who've rolled in dragon droppings!"

"I know this smell," Ashita said, her face going a shade paler. "It's... it's Meuma's herd."

"Figures," Kainashi said with a flick of her hand, tossing something over her shoulder.. "She's the only mare crazy enough to go near a dragon's valley."

"Meuma? You don't say?" Koe snarled. "I got a few things I could say to her, but I think I'll let my claws do the talking for me."

"No you won't," Hiuchimaru retorted severely. "You'll leave her alone, is what you'll do. I'll just steer her clear of the forest. She's no longer a herd-mare for the Eien no Mori."

"Too late," Kainashi said, glancing over her shoulder. "I can hear the horses. They're about half a kilometer a way. Running at full gallop. Like they're being chased or something."

Hiuchimaru cursed blackly and made a gesture with his hands, like he was indicating something should open, and then shut. "Ashita, you take the foals and get into the forest. Koe, you go with her. Greeneyes, you're staying here with me."

Ashita climbed onto her black horse, Opaara got onto his large bay gelding, and Koe shooed a few other horses along behind them as they fled into the forest. Once they'd passed the boundary, Hiuchimaru made another gesture, and a noticeable barrier activated.

"Is that really necessary, Grey-eyes?" Kainashi crossed her arms. "This is just the Meuma. I mean, those are her daughters, after all. You think she'd actually try to kill them?"

"If she smells Mimiko, she will."

"Huh," Kainashi said. "You want me to take her out? I can. She's getting on in years, she can't be as fast as she was. Certainly can't be anything like Himawari."

"No reason to kill her."

"Suit yourself, Grey-eyes."

What approached was about two dozen lathered horses of varying colors and sizes, guided by a quartet of uma-youkai. The leader of the quartet was a buxom, hard-faced female with a very equine countenance. She bore a striking resemblance to Koe, but her features were much more prominently equine than even Koe's were. A mane of glorious, fiery red-gold hair cascaded unbound from her scalp. She rode an iron gray cob, looking for all the world like an amazon on a warhorse.

Hiuchimaru stepped into the pathway, blocking the road. Kagome randomly got a mental image of him standing on a bridge, holding a staff and proclaiming "You cannot pass!"

_I knew I shouldn't have gone to the movies with Yuka and Eri last time I was home. Oh man, that movie is going to be haunting me._

"You may not pass," Hiuchimaru said, to Kagome's endless amusement. Inuyasha glared at her with his "what-the-fuck-is-so-damned-funny?" expression.

"Who the hell are you to tell me where I may and may not go, you suckling?" the lead mare -- Meuma, apparently -- snapped peevishly. "Where the hell's Kuroshima? Damned idiot's letting new-weaned runts strut around like they own the place."

"You _have_ been gone for a while, haven't you?" Kainashi deadpanned. "Kuroshima's been dead for a long time. This 'new-weaned runt' is his successor."

The lead mare glared at Kainashi, trying to intimidate her, but Kainashi was having none of it. "You're joking, right? While I can believe that Kuroshima has carked it, you don't seriously expect me to believe that this _colt_ is the new guardian of this idiotic forest, do you?"

"Not new," Hiuchimaru replied, crossing his arms. "I've been here a quarter of a century already. I'm not as young as I look."

Meuma scoffed. "You call yourself the guardian of the Eien no Mori, and yet you're standing outside its boundaries. Don't make me laugh. No guardian of that forest has ever been able to leave its borders once they take the post."

"Feel free to try me," Hiuchimaru answered. "If you're challenging me, I'll let you. You're not entering my forest."

"Meuma," the male in her group said to the lead mare, "we can't stand around here all day!"

Meuma glowered. "Well, we can't go back, and apparently we can't go forward, because this runt won't let us. What do you suggest we do, Rengoku? Fly?"

"Pay toll or whatever to get passage through, and the fuck with your goddamn pride, you crazy mare," the stallion retorted. "We've got a pack of pissed-off ookami-youkai on our asses, and these horses are about to drop. What do _you_ suggest we do? Stand around and get blindsided?"

A hand came to Inuyasha's shoulder, gaining his attention.

"I think it's wisest if we retreat to the forest edge too," Miroku said. "We don't want to get caught up in this. We have nothing to do with it, but standing around here like this is just asking to get caught in the crossfire."

"Why don't we just blow this place? We got no reason to hang around."

"Well, Kirara's exhausted, and Hiuchimaru offered to give us a ride at least half the distance. And you... you've got to be tired." The monk left it at that, choosing not to even say what everyone knew; with his monthly transformation a mere five or six hours away, Inuyasha was rapidly losing all his youkai enhancements, including his incredible stamina. Even though as a human Inuyasha had more strength and stamina than just about any human Miroku had ever met, the fact remained that without his youkai abilities, he tired much more easily than usual.

"Fucking hell," the hanyou sighed. "I hate this. I really, really fucking hate this." Nevertheless, he cooperated, and followed his friends over to where the resident uma-youkai were gathered just inside the forest boundary.

Koe was furious beyond belief. She was clinging to a nearby tree, her claws gouging the bark right off the sturdy trunk.

"Damn him, I swear, just give me thirty seconds to show her what I think of her!" the mare grumbled. "She fucking _abandoned_ me!"

Ashita was sitting propped up against the same tree, looking at her sister with a mixture of tolerance and annoyance. "Koe, that was a long, long time ago, and I've told you before that Meuma is known for doing that. She did that with _me_, as a matter of fact."

"No, she left you with your father. She abandoned me with a creepy forest guardian who was going to kill me in five minutes if you hadn't shown up."

Ashita sighed heavily; "There you go again. Same old argument. I'm not in the mood for this. I don't like it when you talk badly about my father. I know you didn't like him, but I loved him dearly." She looked out at where her mate stood motionlessly in the road, refusing to allow Meuma's herd to pass into the Eien no Mori.

"Unless I miss my guess," Traveller said from his perch over their heads. "That stallion that's with them is none other than Rengoku."

"Rengoku?" Opaaru looked up at the bird. "Who's that?"

"Koe's sire," the bird drawled. "Not sure what all he can do, but he's got quite a reputation all over the country."

"Ugh," Ashita held her hand over her mouth and nose. "I thought I caught a whiff of it, but now I'm sure. That horrible stink we thought was Meuma's herd, that smells like dragon excreta, is actually still moving. It's wolves. There are ookami-youkai headed this way. Probably chasing Meuma's herd."

Kagome shook her head when she felt her friends' eyes on her. "Not Koga. Or if it is, he's lost all his jewel shards. The only jewel shard I can sense at all is this one right here," she tapped the little glass bottle she kept the fragment in whenever possible. "I'm pretty sure it's not Koga."

"Good," Inuyasha snorted. "Last thing I want is that stinking wolf-cub hanging around."

"There they are," Koe said, her eyes pinned to a spot on the horizon. "Looks like there's about a dozen or so of them. That's quite a pack for around here. Wonder what Flint's going to do about them?"

Ashita chuckled... and it wasn't a nice chuckle. "Too bad we aren't omnivorous, eh, Koe? I think we'll be seeing some roasted wolf here in about ten minutes."

"Is that precognizant?" Miroku asked. "Do you see it coming?"

"Of course not," Ashita retorted. "Too close in time. I've never been able to foresee something that close to happening. My visions are always at least twelve hours away. But it doesn't take a lot of brain-work to know what Flint is going to do. He's got a nasty, nasty scar on his torso -- front and back -- from a pack of ookami-youkai, and thus he doesn't suffer them in his presence at all. Any wolves foolish enough to get within range of him are going to be killed."

"And here I thought he preached about the uselessness of vengeance," Inuyasha spat. "Fucking hypocrite."

"Hey," Ashita said angrily, looking up at him but remaining seated. "Don't talk about him like you know what he thinks. This isn't out of vengeance that he does that. Those wolves are dangerous, and he gives them ample opportunity to escape. He'll usually even warn them. He's doing it right now, though I'm guessing you can't hear it; he does it subsonic. If they get within range, he blasts them. He views them as a major threat to the survival of his family and forest. If he takes some satisfaction out of frying the wolves to a crisp, well, who the hell are you to judge him for it?"

Inuyasha held her gaze firmly, refusing to submit by looking away, but his silence was enough admission on his part that he knew he'd erred. After almost a full sixty seconds of a stare-down, Ashita looked away, though the tilt of her chin was not of submission, but of finality. She was done with the conversation.

Opaaru leaped from his horse's back onto a tree branch and shinnied his way up to a higher one. His mother looked up at him, slightly alarmed. "What are you doing, Opaaru?"

"I want to see what he's gonna do. He won't teach me that technique!"

"Ever think that there's a reason for it, runt?" Koe growled. "You're too young to be messing with demonfire."

Shippo, who was perched on Kagome's shoulder, snickered at that.

Kainashi ducked down just as Hiuchimaru leaped upward, spinning into a transformation, scaring off half of Meuma's herd as he did so.

"Aww, darn," Opaaru said disappointedly. "He's going to do it that way, huh? Figures. He won't show me how to transform either."

"You're too young!" Ashita snapped. "Now get down from of there, before you get hurt!"

The colt monkeyed his way down the tree trunk to the ground, while out in the clearing beyond the forest, the giant spirit horse unleashed a barrage of blue demonfire. As Ashita had said, the wolves had ample opportunity to escape, but didn't, and they paid the highest price possible.

"Oh no," Koe said softly as she watched. "Flint, for the love of God, no, don't -- " She dug her claws deeper into the wood of the tree. "Please don't!"

Too late, though, apparently; a couple of Meuma's horses got caught in the crossfire, and Hiuchimaru ruthlessly cut them down with his demonfire. The horses screamed even as the living breath was seared out of them. Kagome ground her jaws in agitation; she'd heard rabbits scream in snares before, but this sound was a whole new level of wrong.

"I'll scratch him good for that, Ashita," Koe said, glancing at her sister. "Scratch him up on arm and down the other."

"Mmm," Ashita replied tensely. "Bite him while you're at it. I'd bite him myself, but he'd probably think it was foreplay. God, I hate it when he gets rough like that. He knows how uma-youkai react to a horse dying like that!"

Finally, the melee ended. Meuma started to rant at Hiuchimaru for the deaths of some of her horses, but the spirit horse just stamped a foot angrily and glared at her. Finally, the mare thought better of making too much of a fuss and she and her herd beat a hasty retreat.

"Flint, I'm gonna kick your ass from here to Hokkaido for that!" Koe yelled. "You goddamn, senseless, bugger-brained asshole! And, Ashita's going to help me, too! So you just prepare yourself to be completely black and blue!"

Kainashi snorted with laughter. "I'm not a part of this, but I'll witness."

The spirit horse folded himself down until he was curled up on the ground like a foal. _I'm sorry. I had no other choice. I didn't want to hit them, but they got in the way. In any case, I think that we should get going, if I am going to convey our friends any distance. Now is as good a time as any._

"Eh?"

_Ashita, you and the filly are coming with me. You'll be safest that way. Koe, you stay here with Greeneyes and Opaaru. The rest of you,_ the horse turned its shimmering gray eyes to Inuyasha and his friends, _if you're going to take me up on the offer, now is the time to get aboard. I'm not going to have the energy to return to this form again for another couple of hours once I switch out._

Inuyasha turned to his friends; "So, we can go now, yes? I really want to be far away from that accursed mountain. That's got nothing but bad memories for me."

Miroku sighed. "One track mind. I should have known better than to expect anything else of you." He turned to his female companions. "Well, ladies, shall we go?"

Abruptly, Shippo leaped from Kagome's shoulder to land on Opaaru's.

"Oi, squirt, we're leaving. What the hell? You staying here?"

"No," Shippo said, scrambling across the colt's shoulders. "I just wanted to say goodbye, since you're too proud to." The the kitsune wrapped his tiny arms around the young uma-youkai's neck in an impromptu hug. "We'll meet again, Opaaru! When we both grow up into great youkai, we'll meet again. That's a promise!"

The colt giggled and rubbed Shippo's furry head. "I look forward to it! I can't wait to see what a real kitsune adult looks like. And if Father never teaches me how to use demonfire, perhaps you can."

"Hmph! Kitsune fire can't be used by you crazy horses!" Shippo was grinning. "And when I'm grown up, I'll show you that it's nothing to laugh at either! I'm just too small to do much with it; my papa used to be even better with his kitsune fire than your father is with his whatever-kind-of-demonfire!"

The kitsune leaped onto Koe's shoulders, rubbing against her in a manner that reminded Kagome starkly of her cat begging for scraps. Koe smiled and pet the little fox without comment.

All while this was happening, Ashita had climbed up onto the spirit horse's back and was now perched on its withers, lacing her fingers in the flaxen mane. Her daughter still clung to her torso like a baby monkey.

_Good god, _Kagome thought, _I need to not think about my zoology homework so much! I'm reading all kinds of strange descriptions into stuff!_

Miroku and Sango bowed their gratitude to Opaaru and Koe. Kagome did as well, but as she turned, she found herself almost toe-to-toe with Kainashi.

"Here," the green-eyed mare said, holding out a small handful of plants. "I've heard these work really good on humans. Crush them and use them in a poultice, and they work wonders on aching muscles. They don't work for shit on youkai, but they do work on the horses, and Traveller says that some of the humans around here use them. Consider this my thanks for your help with my brother's family. My brother is all I have left right now, until I find myself again."

"Uh," Kagome said intelligently, taking the plants slowly. "Er, thanks... er..."

"Midoriko," the mare said with a smile when she saw Kagome searching for a name. "I think I'll revert to it. Your friend is right. I'm from noble stock; if I can be broken by someone as lame as Naraku, then I really am worthless and not worth my heritage." The mare looked over at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, was it? Someday, perhaps, when I find myself, we can fight properly. I'd like to test my skills against those diamonds of yours."

"Good fucking luck," Inuyasha snarked. "But I'll keep it in mind. C'mon, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, runt, let's go!"

* * *

For an hour and a half, they soared over Japan's countryside, ticking off the miles effortlessly. Kagome noticed that Miroku had lapsed into his old habits, and was actually hitting on Ashita. The mare, however, was oblivious to the advances. She seemed to be enjoying the flight, and was idly plaiting her mate's mane. 

After the first half hour, though, the mare started to wise up to what the monk was doing, and when she figured it out, she threatened him with her claws. Inuyasha, knowing that the monk had brought it on himself, just laughed when Miroku tried to appeal to him for help.

"Ashita?" Kagome asked as the flight progressed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Does it bother you? The wound, I mean?"

"It hurts, yes, but I live with it."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to fix it for you."

Ashita snorted softly. "You gave me a precious gift, Kagome. You gave me time. I couldn't ask for anything more than that. I have time to prepare my family for when I leave them. And I have time to give Flint one more foal."

_Even if that foal is costing you your life sooner than we'd like?_ Hiuchimaru turned his great head to eye her gravely. _I really didn't want that, you know. I'd rather have you than another foal, if this other foal means you die. I thought you understood that._

"I'm not going anywhere yet, you worry-wort," she giggled and thumped the big chestnut neck. "And your sister is with us to help now."

_Such as that can be,_ the horse said. _We can't presume that Himawari will ever do that again, you know. Even if she does find liferoot on the continent, I think she was using it herself._

"Oh my god," Ashita said softly, looking down. "Is that... is that the Niji no Mori?"

What stretched out below them was the desolate remains of a pillaged and burned out forest. Tree carcasses lay everywhere, some burned, some just carved up. It was a far cry from the majestic forest Kagome remembered from just over seven or eight months ago.

_Yes. What's left of it. Father's death really doomed it. There's a small part of it that's untouched, the part that's ruled by a very old magnolia tree, but the rest of it is destroyed. Father chose his successor poorly._

"Who was his successor?" Ashita's face looked almost pained as she observed the remains of a once-powerful youkai forest.

_My sister. Kiniroko. She wanted no part of being a hogosha youkai, I think. But she had the talent. She would have made a good one, if she had only opened herself up to it. But she was... narrowminded. Or so I gather from the gossipmongering trees._

"If I recall correctly," Miroku pondered, "she said she was too hateful to be a good one. She had too many grudges she couldn't give up."

_Very strange, given how close she was to Father. I'd've thought Father's teachings would reach her a little more deeply than that. More so than Midoriko or Himawari, since Mother died when Kiniroko was so young. I guess she must have inherited Mother's stupid pride._

The pace began to slow.

_It appears this is my limit. The forest is starting to tug back on my reins. I can't go much further._

"We thank you," Miroku said solemnly. "You've cut more than half out of our journey. We should have no trouble getting to Kaede's village by sundown."

The spirit horse's flaming hooves touched down on the ground. No sooner had the group gotten off than the youkai spun down into his humanoid form, and sank to one knee. "Oh, whoa... that took more out of me than I expected."

Ashita put an arm around her mate. "We can walk back, I think. At least until you get your strength back."

"We'll have to." The hogosha youkai coughed heavily and took several deep, gasping breaths.

Sango approached the forest guardian and bowed. "Again, thank you for your hospitality, however brief it was."

"Naah, don't mention it. I would hardly call that hospitality. But you are welcome, nevertheless. Take care of yourselves, all of you. I don't know who this Naraku is that you seek, but I can imagine he's not someone to trifle with."

"You don't need to tell us that, _baka-uma_." Inuyasha grumbled.

"But, if we ever meet again, I do hope it's under better circumstances than what we've had so far," Sango added quickly. "These haven't exactly been friendly conditions."

Ashita's face became somber. "I have the feeling we won't ever meet again. I can't explain how I know this, since I usually can't see that far out, but..."

Miroku bowed before the mare; "I apologize if I offended you earlier. I didn't mean anything untoward by it. Take care of yourself, since we probably won't see you again. Er, I hope your foal is born healthy and strong."

"C'mon, you guys, let's get going." Inuyasha said "We're burning daylight, as Kagome would say." He crouched down, to allow Kagome to clamber onto his back. Shippo perched in Kagome's hair, waving enthusiastically to the two youkai behind them. Miroku and Sango climbed aboard Kirara and followed as Inuyasha launched off.

"So," Hiuchimaru said, "why did he try to attack you earlier?"

"Because I know when his human cycles are. But I'm not going to tell you, because it's none of your business," Ashita combed her fingers through her mate's hair affectionately. "Just as I didn't tell them about Mimiko's cycles, so I won't reveal his cycles to anyone. I know them because they're dictated by the moon, and I can see the phases of the moon."

"You're a good person, Ashita. Much too good a person." Hiuchimaru heaved himself to his feet. "Let's go home."

**THE END. (no, really!)**

* * *

**Original characters and the origins of their names**:  
**Nijimaru**: (male) hogosha taiyoukai guardian of Niji no Mori. His true form is a large chestnut spirit-horse. Deceased (killed by Sesshomaru). His name means "Rainbow Circle" and refers primarily to his eye color.  
**Saoirse**: (female) uma-youkai leader of a herd patrolling the Niji no Mori; originated far to the west of Japan (on "the Main Land" near Europe). Deceased (killed by the taijiya). Name origin: "saoirse" is the Gaelic word for "freedom" and since Saoirse is from the continent, it seems more appropriate.  
**Himawari** (born Hanako): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Transient uma-taiyoukai. She has an affinity with plants and nature, and often serves as a messenger of sorts. Her name means "sunflower" (which was Saoirse's favorite flower)  
**Kainashi** (born Midoriko): (female) second daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse. She is a healer and herbalist. Her self-appointed name means "worthless" and is indicative of her ongoing identity and self-esteem crises.  
**Hiuchimaru** (born Hai'iro): (male) son of Nijimaru and Saoirse. Guardian of the Eien no Mori at the base of Mt Hakurei. His name means "flint circle" and refers to his supremacy over flint; this also gives rise to his nickname of "Flint" amongst his family. (His birth name of Hai'iro -- "gray" -- refers to the color of his eyes)  
**Kiniromaru** (born Kiniroko): (female) daughter of Nijimaru and Saoirse; leader of a band of uma-youkai patrolling the Niji no Mori. Deceased (killed by Inuyasha). Her name means "golden circle"  
**Opaaru**: (male) juvenile uma-youkai; son of Hiuchimaru and Ashita. The only offspring of Hiuchimaru. His name means Opal, referring to his eyes.  
**Ashita** (born Moriko): (female) hogosha/uma-youkai; ancestral ruler of the Eien no Mori, daughter of the previous guardian; formal mate of Hiuchimaru and mother of Opaaru; she is faintly precognizant and can see possible futures up to 48 hours in advance. Her name literally means "tomorrow"  
**Koe** (born Manatsu): (female) younger half-sister of Ashita; she has a particularly powerful voice and can sometimes speak to souls in other dimensions or time periods. Her name literally means "voice"  
**Mimiko**: (female) hanyou daughter of Ashita and a human monk, formally adopted by Hiuchimaru. Her name literally means "ears"  
**Kuroshima**: (male) previous guardian of the Eien no Mori; Ashita's sire. Deceased (cause of death undisclosed). His name means "black island" but isn't indicative of anything about him..  
**Meuma** (birth name unknown): (female) once-dominant female uma-youkai in the Eien no Mori. Mother of Ashita and Koe. Her name is her title as lead mare of the herd. ("meuma" means female horse, or mare)  
**Rengoku**: (male) a consort of Meuma. Sire of Koe. His name means "purgatory"  
**Enmaku**: (male) a male uma-youkai from the mainland; current mate of Himawari; sire of Ashita's daughter Yume. His name means "smokescreen"  
**Yume**: (female) a juvenile uma-youkai; daughter of Ashita and Enmaku; still follows her father and his current mate because she hasn't learned how to protect herself. Her name means "dream"  
**Shunme**: (male) Himawari's youba partner. His name means "swift horse"  
**Kiribitou**: (no gender) Hiuchimaru's demonblade, made of flint and infused with the malevolent soul of a fire elemental. Its name roughly means "flint-spark sword"  
**Traveller** (also known as Kowairo): (male) transient bird youkai with an uncanny ability to mimic any sound he's ever heard and remembers. An old friend of Nijimaru, and by extension, of Kainashi and Hiuchimaru. His Japanese name of Kowairo means "vocal mimicry" 

**Vocabulary**:  
ashita - "tomorrow" or the near future  
enmaku - "smokescreen"  
hai'iro - "gray color"  
hana - "flower"  
himawari - "sunflower"  
hiuchi - "flint"  
"ja na" - a colloquial way of saying "goodbye"  
kainashi - "worthless; useless; hopeless"  
kin'iro - "golden color"  
-ko - (feminine suffix)  
koe - "voice"  
koppa - a worthless thing or person  
kouma - "colt" or "filly" (basically, baby horse)  
kowairo - "vocal mimicry" (a voice that imitates)  
kuro - "black"  
kutabarizokonai - "worthless" (of a person); somebody who wouldn't be missed if they died  
-maru - "circle" (also, a masculine suffix)  
meuma - "mare" (female horse)  
mimi - "ear(s)"  
mori - "forest"  
nee-chan - "older sister" (familiar; used to address)  
niji - "rainbow"  
ookami - "wolf"  
reizan - "sacred mountain"  
rengoku - "purgatory"  
shima - "island"  
taijiya - "demon exterminator" (roughly)  
uma - "horse"  
yume - "dream" or "vision"


End file.
